Could One Change?
by PorcelainWhiteRoses
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS WITHIN Could one character change an entire stroy? Could she prevent the disasters? Could she avoid the heartbreak? COuld she change someone's heart? Could she survive the ngiht in a corrputed world? Would she be able to hold ehr ground against the world that's against her? If Richard had a sister; would it change anything?
1. Our Story Begins

"Daddy, I don't want to go to Lhant!" A little girl exclaimed, "It's boring there! Can't I stay home with you?" The child had long beautiful blonde hair that nearly touched the ground and it was lose from anything that would hold it together and off her face. Shorter locks of hair fell over her eyes and slightly impaired her vision of her father.

This young girl was the Alice, Princess of Windor and her older brother, Richard was to be the King when their father died. The King placed a hand on the girl's cheek and brushed the hair off her face and behind her ears, revealing her gorgeous, light brown eyes that seemed so faded that they were nearly colorless. The bloodshot whites of her eyes from crying and pleading emphasized the sadness and tone of her soft eyes and would make anyone's heart melt, "You need to make sure your brother doesn't get into trouble, okay Alice?" He smiled at his daughter but looked up as a blue haired man entered the room, "Bryce, what is it?"

"The boat to Lhant is here, You Majesty." Bryce replied, holding his hand out for Alice to come to him, "My Princess, if you would please follow me to the port? Your brother awaits us there on the boat."

Alice turned to the man and nodded. She gripped her short light blue skirt nervously. She had never been outside of Barona. She had the option every year to go with her brother to other towns but she was so attached to her parents and afraid to leave her father's side. She had grown up not able to trust anyone outside her castle; her fortress.

She slowly moved towards Bryce, adjusting the tights underneath her skirt and covered her legs. At the bottom they were dark blue but as they went up her leg, the color slowly changed to an off-white color. A very small portion of legs showed just before her white shoes and was maybe about three inches of showing skin. Her shirt resembled a sailor-girl uniform top. When she reached Bryce, he placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her out as she glanced back to see her father wave goodbye to her.

Outside at the port, a young, eleven year old boy stood by the boardwalk onto the boat. His arms were crossed and he was guarded by three soldiers in suits of armor. Alice waved to the people of Barona as they told her to have a safe trip on her way to Lhant despite it being a very short ride. Richard held his hand out and Alice grabbed it as they boarded the ship and sat down on a bench outside, facing the bow, "Richard, what's Lhant like?" She asked, looking up at her brother with admiration.

Richard shook his head, looking off at the islands off in the distance that had names Richard didn't know, "I've never been there so I wouldn't know." He looked down at Alice, "You've never left, Barona, have you?" Alice shook her head in response and starred at her knees as she waited for their arrival at Lhant Port.

As the port could be seen, Richard took his sister's hand and led her towards Bryce and the other guards. Alice held onto her brother's hand and let him guide her to the Turtlez Transport after the boat had finally docked.

Immediately after they left the ship, people began crowding the area of the port in which the two siblings of royalty were standing, looking around at all the strangers. Loud shouts and exclamations were made by the people of Lhant as they commented out the appearance of the two, "Look! They're holding hands, they're so cute!" One young woman yelled out to the rest of the crowd. Others tried to get closer to them but a line of guards formed so that the people were pushed back as they climbed into the Turtlez Transport.

Bryce got on after them and the soldiers took formation around the creature as they began to move from Lhant. Alice took a big sigh, she was thankful for the guards that kept those people from crowding them. She wasn't very good with large amounts of people especially when she was the center of attention, "Bryce, have you ever been here before?" Alice asked.

The blue haired man nodded with a slightly, chilling grin, "Of course," He replied, "It's a very pretty town but hardly anything compared to the kind of living you have in Barona." He answered. However, Alice didn't find her home beautiful at all. Sure it had lots of nice things but she found the whole stone-cobble street thing highly boring.

Alice poked her head out of the carriage on top of the creature but saw nothing but trees, "Where's Lhant?" She asked blatantly, Richard pulling her back inside. Bryce looked out the carriage as well to see where they were.

"See that stone wall up ahead?" Bryce asked as Alice took a quick look before her brother could yell at her. She nodded and Bryce continued, "That's the gate to Lhant." He finished with a smile. Richard looked bored out of his mind as he had his cheek resting on his hand with the other still gripping his sister's. He had been told to keep a good eye on her since this was her first trip out of the city.

"It is?" Alice wondered, "But it's so small. I can't even see their castle!" She exclaimed in amazement. Being only seven years old, she didn't quite understand that not all places had castles and towers. She let go of Richard's hand for a moment as she stood up and grabbed her hair and pulled it in front of her shoulder. Alice had been sitting on her long hair the whole trip and now she could be more comfortable. She was just about to sit back down when the carriage shook violently and fell back onto Richard.

Richard grabbed his younger sister's shoulders and braced her as the carriage shook again. Soldiers began yelling and shouting outside and Alice looked out of the carriage to see three enormous bird-like creatures attacking the guards, protecting the carriage at all costs. Richard pulled Alice back inside again and sat her down, "Just sit down, Alice." Bryce took out a metal claw and jumped out the carriage, joining the fight as well.

The young girl held her brother's hand tightly as she sat right next to him, waiting for the danger to pass. She always admired Richard for being so brave and wondered why she couldn't be the same way. The fighting had gone on for quite some time when she heard a strange voice yelling that sounded like, 'As the Bell'. Alice looked out the window again, "Richard, look! There's a kid outside!" She exclaimed.

Outside was a young boy probably Richard's age and had dark red hair that matched the man in front of him. The boy's eyes were a bright, icy blue and he seemed to be arguing with the man about something. Richard sighed, "Alice, please stay inside the carriage." He crossed his arms, "It's not polite to eavesdrop."

Alice got back inside as Bryce jumped up and the carriage began moving again. From inside she could see the limp, lifeless bodies of the creatures as they passed by and into Lhant. Alice was in awe at the town as the people starred at the carriage as it passed by. An enormous windmill stood in the town's center and she thought it was gorgeous. A small girl with pink hair stood in front of her house and seemed to be in wonder of the carriage's entourage.

It didn't take long to see all of Lhant and arrive at the Turtlez stable beside a large manor. Richard and Bryce jumped out of the carriage and Bryce turned to Alice and helped her down. She immediately rushed to the fountain and dipped her hand in the water. It was cold to the touch but it was so crystal clear that she didn't want to withdraw her hand from the water, "Richard, come look at this!" She exclaimed.

Richard approached his younger sister with a sigh. He was always so patient with his sister especially now since this was her first time out of the city. Bryce spoke to a man in a suit while the two children admired the flowers and water fountain. Richard picked out a single flower and placed it in Alice's hair; it was a light blue flower that perfectly coordinated with her outfit.

Bryce had finished speaking with the man in the elegant suit and the two were walking together back towards the manor, "Richard, Alice, follow." Richard looked back at Alice and the two followed Bryce as requested into the manor. The inside of the large house wasn't too impressive; only four room and three were bedrooms. It was a cottage compared to Richard and Alice's castle. But Alice thought it was simply adorable and spent her first impressions admiring the picture in the back.

"Hey Richard," Alice began, "That boy in the picture looks like that kid from the road outside of Lhant." She tugged on her brother's sleeve and pointed to the red-haired boy on the painting above the stairs, "And that man looks like the one that was there too!" Richard seemed to be ignoring his sister as the two siblings were led into the room on the right. There were two beds and they were fairly small. But the room was pretty large and comfortable.

"Now you two stay in here." Bryce ordered as he walked out the door and shut it behind him, leaving the two alone. Alice sat on the bed and bounced a few times, checking the softness of the mattress. Richard walked across to the desk and began rummaging through what had been supplied to them. Some paper and quill rested on the table while inside was more paper and some extra bottles of ink.

"Richard?" Alice began, her brother turning to look at her, "Why do we have to stay here in this room?" She asked, "It's boring in here and I don't want to stay here. Can't we go look at around Lhant?" Richard shook his head and took a seat at the table.

"We have to stay here because that's what Bryce said," Richard answered, "And until he says we can leave… Well then we can't leave." Was all he had to say to his younger sister. She seemed satisfied enough with the answer and proceeded to go through the drawers of the night stand and anything else that had been provided for them.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside as the door was pried open to their room. Alice immediately stood up as did Richard and they turned to see a red-haired boy climb in with a younger blue-haired boy and a pink-haired girl. Behind them was a girl that was probably a little older who had purple hair the length of Alice's.

"Who are you?" Richard began, motioning for Alice to join him on the other side of the room. Like a loyal puppy, she stood next to her brother and held her hands behind her back. The strange boy looked around at his small entourage and smiled.

"My name's Asbel Lhant!" He exclaimed, "And this is my brother Hubert; we're the sons of Lord Aston." He continued to the others, "And this is Sophie, and Cheria." Asbel had finally finished introducing his friends when Alice stepped forward.

"You're that boy from earlier," She began, "The one on the road to the Lhant port!" Alice concluded, looking back at her brother who seemed un-amused by the whole scenario, "Richard? Can't we be friends with them?"

Richard looked fierce, "They don't want to be our friends," Richard growled, "They only came because of who we are! Right?" He seemed extremely angry at his people who had just come through their windows.

Before Richard could continue, Bryce entered the room and seemed dis-pleased with the presence of the children inside their room, "Oh? And what is this all about?" He asked. But he wasn't too interested he the answer for he continued without it, "At any rate, Richard, it's time for your sword training."

Richard sighed, "Please, not today Bryce. I'm not feeling well at the moment." He replied as an excuse. Alice knew this which is why he was a little short on words when she spoke about the fountain and seeing Asbel in the painting in the main foyer. However, Bryce was not taking Richard's excuses today.

"Your enemies aren't going to hold back just because you aren't feeling well," Bryce scolded, "If anything they'll attack for that very reason. Now come along, Richard. We have training to do." Alice noticed that Bryce seemed strangely persistent today about Richard's training while other days he would've just left Richard alone.

Just as Richard was leaving with Bryce, Asbel stepped forward, "Wait! You shouldn't force Richard to fight when he isn't feeling well!" He exclaimed, "What's one day of training lost?" Alice cringed for the boy who didn't know how Bryce could be. Bryce went to reply but was cut off, "Train me instead of him today."

Richard and Alice were very confused by Asbel's actions; they had just met him and he was taking training sessions for Richard's sake? Bryce seemed to have no problem with training this boy for the day instead of Richard. They all went out into the front courtyard to watch Asbel's session with Richard's sword instructor. Alice's instructor was present at the Lhant manor as well but was most likely discussing things with Lady Kerri.

Bryce stood in front of Asbel, neither one of them moving. After quite some time in which there was nothing but silence, Asbel spoke, "Where's your sword?" He asked strongly, looking up at Bryce with his wooden weapon gripped tightly.

Shaking his head, Bryce seemed to take offense to Asbel's remark, "I don't need to arm myself against a mere child!" He protested. Alice sat down beside Richard's feet and waiting for the battle to finally begin rather than listen to the two as they exchanged pre-battle dialogue.

"I won't attack an un-armed man," Asbel began, "It would be shameful for a knight to do so." Alice looked up at her brother as she heard him let out a short, quiet laugh and mutter something under her breath. Asbel kept a strong stare as he waited for Bryce to pull out his weapon.

Instead of agreeing with Asbel's request, Bryce only taunted the young boy, "It seems as though the little swordsman is afraid of losing." He commented, his hands clasped together behind his back as his lips curled into a smile, "In that case, Richard or maybe even Alice should take this lesson instead." His smile widened as Asbel took a battle stance, "Very well, then. Prepare yourself."

Bryce shot forward and punched Asbel hard enough to send him flying a few feet back. Richard called out to Asbel like he was worried about the stranger but Bryce continued his instigating, "Aw, did the little knight fall down?" Asbel got up and retaliated with a few swipes that Bryce easily dodged, "Too slow! Are you even trying?" However, the boy was able to land a third blow of Bryce while he was distracted with his taunting, "What?!"

Alice jumped to her feet, "Look Richard! He actually hit Bryce!" She seemed genuinely impressed by Asbel's feat and was bouncing up and down in excitement while her brother was in absolute awe. But then Bryce took out his metal claw and looked ready to kill the small boy.

"That's enough!" A guard ordered as he came out into the courtyard with an enraged look on his face. He approached Bryce and gave him a stern stare. Asbel wiped the sweat from his forehead and lowered his weapon.

"He actually held his ground against Bryce!" Richard exclaimed as the battle finally came to an end, "Amazing…" He added under his breath as they watched the conversing between the guard, Bryce, and Asbel. It seemed Asbel truly wanted to become a knight rather than take over after his father for the Lordship of Lhant.

Alice couldn't stop staring at Hubert, Sophie, and Cheria over on the other side of the courtyard. They were all so different from her; they were older and wore different kinds of clothing from her. She wondered quietly how people could live in such a town like this with such little to offer for entertainment but she had heard that most of the world was like this unlike her home of Barona. "Stop staring, Alice." Richard warned his sister and she looked to her feet.

"Well, now that we're already outside, want to see something cool?" Asbel asked as he approached Alice and Richard with his friends, "Come on, you can come too, Alice!" He smiled but she was looking straight past Asbel and at Cheria who had been staring at her.

"You guys really shouldn't go there now… It's getting late." Cheria pointed out in a slight whine of a tone. Asbel told her she could stay behind if she wanted and Richard began walking off with Asbel. Alice quickly ran after them and grabbed Richard's hand as they walked off with Sophie following behind them, "Alright guys, let's go!"

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reading the first installment of my fanfiction! This is something I started a few months ago but never got to uploading it because I felt like I would never finish it. But I think I has enough interest in my own fanfiction that I can trust myself to follow through! In fact... There are already 12 chapters for its debut on this website!**


	2. A Blossomed Friendship

They had just reached Lhant Hill when a small dog-like creature jumped out at them. The two boys and Alice pulled out swords while Sophie jumped at it with fists flying. She punched out one of the pups while Alice and Richard sliced apart a walking, breathing plant. With the threat gone, Richard looked at his sister to make sure she was okay and then the group proceeded up the hill with little confrontation.

It wasn't long before they had finally reached the top of the hill which was a large clearing overlooking the ocean. A single tree sat on the edge of the cliff and a meadow of flowers covered the whole clearing. Alice walked off into the middle of the flowers, "This place is beautiful!" She sat in the meadow which her brother standing behind her.

"I'm glad I could show this to you two before you had to leave." Asbel replied with a kind smile, "It would be a shame to come all the way from the capital and miss it." It was true; Alice couldn't imagine leaving Lhant without seeing a place like this. It was much more beautiful than anything in Barona.

Richard looked at Asbel, "This is all you wanted; was to show us this place?" He asked, feeling horrible at the way he accused Asbel of only seeking friendship for a personal gain. Asbel nodded and Richard shook his head, "You really are something…"

Just then Bryce appeared in the entrance to the meadow and Alice raised to her feet, standing beside her brother, "Bryce! What are you doing here?" She asked, afraid that she had done something wrong by coming here instead of behaving and staying at the manor like Cheria and Hubert.

"There you are, Your Highnesses." Bryce greeted as if he had been searching for them for hours on end.

"Wait, 'Your Highnesses'?" Asbel repeated, "No way! Does that mean you and Alice are the Prince and Princess of Windor!?" He seemed shocked to information that Alice thought the boy had already known in the first place when he broke into the room.

'"The guards a searching quite frantically for you two," Bryce informed, his hand resting on his hip, "I'm very disappointing in you for putting them through so much trouble. But his actually makes things much easier for me." His usually wide smile twisted into a wicked, cruel grin that struck fear in the heart of Alice as she moved closer to her brother and Bryce pulled out a metal claw.

Asbel scratched his head in confusion, "I thought the lesson for today was over!" He exclaimed. However, Richard seemed to know what was about to happen while Alice was clueless. She had no clue what Bryce might be thinking and his smile scared her greatly.

"This isn't a lesson," Bryce replied, "I'm going to kill the precious royalty of Windor!" His grin widened, "And this time, there are no guards to stop me from carrying out my goal! Your lives belong to me now."

To their surprise, Asbel and Sophie stood in front of Richard and Alice, "Get back you two. We'll take care of this." Asbel ordered as he pulled out his sword. Just then Sophie flung herself at Bryce; landing punches on him until he threw her off of him and retaliated with a wide slash that knocked back both of the children.

Richard had fallen to the ground in disbelief; that Bryce was actually doing this. He knew that he was supposed to be protecting Alice from the madness but he was in such a state of shock that he couldn't get up. All he could do was back up towards the cliff while Alice was leaning against the tree, eyes wide as she watched the horrors unfold before her. Her sheltered life is what betrayed her here; letting this be the first time she had ever experienced a sin such as treason.

It hadn't taken too long for Asbel and Sophie to get the upper hand on Bryce and finish him off, knocking the man unconscious on the flowers. They turned to Richard who was still backing away from the scene, "Richard! Look out for the cliff!" Just then Richard looked behind him and slipped back off the edge of the cliff.

Sophie and Asbel immediately reacted and grabbed his leg and arm just before he fell down off the cliff. Alice soon hurried to them and held onto the back of Asbel and Sophie's clothing, trying to pull them back and help them with her brother, "Richard, give me your other hand!" Asbel yelled, holding his free hand out to Richard.

As Richard reached up with his left hand, the weight of his body as it shifted caused Asbel and Sophie to lose balance and the three tumbling over the cliff. Alice couldn't think fast enough to let go and instead went plummeting down after them. However, she blacked out before she even hit the ground as the fear was just too much for her.

Alice slowly felt herself being rocked back and forth as if she was on a boat. Everything was black but she could hear the quiet, soft noise of waves lapping at the beach's sand. It felt as though the only thing that existed was her and those waves. Suddenly, her daydreaming was interrupted by someone frantically calling her name out, "Alice! Come on, Alice, wake up!" It was Richard's voice and he sounded as though he would break out in tears if she didn't open her eyes.

However, the small task of opening her eyes was much harder than usual. First, she began moving her legs to at least let her brother know she was conscious and then slowly, her eyes opened into slits before widening, looking up into Richard's eyes. Her brother took a deep breath, "Thank goodness you're awake… Are you okay, Alice?" He stood up and helped Alice to her feet.

It took Alice a few moments to comprehend and fully remember what had just happened. She remembered falling off the cliff but that's about it. She looked up to the edge where they had all fallen and noticed it had to be at least a mile up. But then again, everything was much bigger when you're seven years old and only three feet and eight inches tall, "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked around to see Asbel and Sophie gathered around her as well.

Richard turned to look at Asbel, "You saved my sister and me," He began, "I'm very grateful and we are now in your debt." He removed his favorite ring from his finger and held it out to Asbel, "I'd like you to have this. It doesn't make up for it entirely but I still want you to have this."

Asbel shook his head and refused to take the ring, "I'm not taking that from you, and I only did what I thought a knight would do." He smiled, "You don't need to repay me at all." After a few minutes of the weak argument, Asbel and Richard moved off the topic; Richard ended up keeping the ring, "So how do we get back up? We can't just climb straight up." Asbel looked to a path that had been naturally set in the cliff-face.

"Looks like we'll need to walk." Alice concluded and the group slowly began to make their way back up the towards the meadow's landing.

* * *

It had taken them a good hour to return to the meadow's clearing and Alice was exhausted. Richard had resulted to carrying his tired little sister in his arms up for the rest of the way up from about at the half-way mark to the meadow. Given that the kids had been outside through the night, it was only natural that someone Alice's age would be so tired that they couldn't move an inch. Her brother set her down when they had reached the top and he faced Asbel, "Alright! We did it! It's amazing what friends can do when they're together!"

Alice pushed herself onto her feet, rubbing her arm against her eyes as she wiped away the tiredness. Her brother was confused by the notion of being friends with Asbel and Sophie so much that he needed to repeat for him to clarify, "Friends?"

Asbel smiled, "Yeah of course we're all friends now! Alice, you, Sophie, and I! We're all friends!" He seemed quite happy about being friends with the two siblings and Alice was quite fond of the idea as well.

"What are friends supposed to do?" Sophie asked, tilting her head, letting one purple pigtail drop lower to the ground while the other went further up. Alice couldn't help but stare at her; she was so strange from the way she looked to the way she talked. She had been staring until Richard asked her to stop quietly.

"Friends help each other when they're in trouble and laugh together when they're happy!" He looked at Sophie with a somewhat sad expression, "Don't tell me you've forgotten what it's like to have friends!" Sophie only shook her head and Asbel hit his closed fist against the palm of his other hand, "I know! I've got a great idea; let's use the tree to make a friendship pact!"

Alice now spoke up, "What's a friendship pact?" She asked with a confused look. Alice had never heard of such a thing as a friendship pact. But that was probably because she didn't really have friends since she never left her home in Barona.

"It's an old tradition in Lhant!" Asbel began to explain, "They say that if you and your friends carve your name into a tree and then hold hands, then your friendship will last forever." He picked up a sharp stick and placed his hand on the tree and Richard got his own stick and joined Asbel by the tree as the two boys inscribed their names into the tree trunk.

Richard turned to his sister when he was done with his name, "Come on, Alice. Come write your name too!" He handed the stick to Alice and she stood beside Asbel as he helped Sophie write her own name on the trunk. When both of them had finished they all turned to look at each other.

Asbel held his hand out in the center of their circle, "Everyone put your hand in." Asbel began as they all did as he asked, "From now on no matter what happens…" He started the recital of something Alice thought was something significant to Lhant but she soon realized she recognized the small lyric.

"The three of us will always be friends…" Richard continued.

"We will always…" Sophie added.

"Be friends." Alice finished off the lyric with those two words.

Asbel looked happier than anyone Alice had ever seen; he was beaming with joy and his eyes were wide with the same feeling, "Now our friendship can never be broken!" He exclaimed as Richard turned away to look over the ocean.

"Look, the sun's rising…" He pointed out quietly showed Alice with a gesture and she sat quietly as she admired the beautiful shades of orange and red and the purplish clouds that spotted the sky, "I'll remember this day for the rest of my life…" There was no way he would ever forget a day like this in a million years.

"Master Asbel! Is that you!?" An old man called form the entrance to Lhant Hill. It was the butler from earlier in the day, or at least yesterday, and Asbel looked over to see one of the servants of the house. With the man were soldiers calling out Alice and Richard's names as well.

Asbel waved his hands up in the air, "Hey, Frederic! Over here!" The group ran over towards the soldiers and Frederic. Asbel returned to his butler while Alice and Richard were approached by guards that had accompanied them on their trip to Lhant.

"Princess Alice, Prince Richard," A soldier began, "You should return to the manor in Lhant at once." They suggested, "Shall we escort you there?"

Richard shook his head, "No that's alright; we can make it over there ourselves. Come on, Alice." And with that, Richard, Sophie, Alice, and Asbel began making their way back towards Lhant.


	3. Breaking Way

"You have disobeyed me for the last time, Asbel!" The boy's father raged as he hit Asbel's cheek. Alice stepped forward to help him but Richard held a tight grip on her wrist, preventing her from getting involved in a physical way.

Instead, Richard stepped forward, "Lord Aston, please do not be angry with Asbel. He saved me and my sister's lives." He began, holding onto Alice's hand as he stood up for Asbel.

"With all due respect, your highness," Lord Aston began, "But your lives would never have been endangered if it weren't for my son spiriting you two away." He had bowed to the two which Alice wasn't entirely comfortable with.

Alice shook her head, "That isn't true, Lord Aston," She started, her small voice growing stronger and slightly louder, "My brother and I had asked Asbel to show us the town. If there is blame needed to be placed, let it me upon us, not Asbel." For someone so young, she was still very responsible and mature.

The Lord of Lhant sighed, "As you wish, your Highnesses." He continued on, "I will forgive Asbel's role in the threat of your lives." Richard voiced his gratefulness while Alice curtsied to the much older man of high authority. Lord Aston turned to Asbel again, "But we are not through, Asbel. I told you not to go to Lhant Hill and not only do you disobey me but you had Cheria and Hubert lie to me to shield you from trouble. They royal search party was delayed for hours because of you!" Asbel's father shook his head, "You are confined to your room until any further notice."

Asbel muttered something that Alice couldn't quite make out and Richard looked at their new friend with some sympathy, "Sorry Asbel, we tried." The Prince apologized for the both of them.

"It's okay…" He replied, "Who knows what my dad would've done if you said nothing…" He finished off, "Thanks Richard…"

Suddenly, something came back to Aston's memory and he turned to Richard and Alice, "Oh, I'm sorry to inform you of some terrible news that came to us during your absence," He began. Alice watched the older man intently as he finished his sentence, "Your father has fallen very ill, you two have been ordered to return home immediately."

"Daddy's sick?!" Alice exclaimed frantically, she couldn't believe it. The one time she left home something like this happened. Not only could she not believe her hearing, she also didn't _want_ to believe it.

Aston bowed his head, "I'm afraid so. You should prepare to depart at once." He straightened, "And since we cannot leave Bryce here unattended, I shall escort you to Barona myself."

Richard glanced down at Alice who was trembling in her shoes as she tried to comprehend the information she had just received. She was so young that it was taking her awhile to fully understand. The way Lord Aston had told them made it sound as though it wasn't something her father would simply get over, "I… I understand." Richard finally said, allowing Alice to hug his arm tightly as they walked past Aston and towards Lhant Manor.

Alice had been told to wait by the carriage while Richard talked to Asbel. She said goodbye to her friends quickly then did as she was told. Bryce was being taken towards the second Turtlez carriage in a series of cuffs and chains. He gave Alice an intense, hateful glare, "You're just lucky that you had those two brats to protect you, Princess!" He spat the word princess as if it was soap in his mouth. Alice cringed and quickly retreated into her won carriage as Richard joined her. In front of them was their escort of Lord Aston Lhant and his youngest son, Hubert. Alice couldn't help but feel bad for Asbel who had been left behind.

The two siblings had a quiet trip back to Barona; neither Richard nor Alice spoke a word but it was apparent that Alice was afraid to be by herself. The incident with Bryce definitely did some damage on her mental state and she would be like that for quite some time. The soldiers and personal guards could only hope that it wouldn't affect her negatively for the rest of her life. Richard seemed quite concerned for his sister but still said nothing to her.

When they had finally arrived in Barona, people flooded the port and streets, welcoming the royalty back home to the capital. Alice and Richard, however, were too out of it to even say thank you or acknowledge the people and soon enough, they dispersed. The moment they got to the castle, Alice raced through the halls to her father's bedroom and stood by the side; her ill father laying in the bed with an arm over his forehead, "Daddy?" She said quietly.

The King stirred but couldn't move too much; his illness was far worse than Alice had imagined. Richard entered the room not long after as the King reached up to his daughter. Alice grabbed her father's hand with her two and held tightly as he spoke, "Alice, I'm so sorry…" He began, "Both of you, I'm very sorry but..."

"What do you mean?" Richard asked, looking at his father with the same tear-filled look his sister had.

Looking back at Alice, the King sighed, "Alice, would you please wait out in the hallway? I need to speak with your brother for a moment." Alice was reluctant to leave but she eventually was escorted away by an attending nurse that Alice has grown quite fond of. Her name was Adiba and served as Alice's nanny while she was growing up.

It seemed like hours to Alice as she waited for her brother to come out or for someone to let her back it. Finally, Richard's blonde head poked between the door and its frame and came out into the hallway. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot as if he had been crying while in their father's room, "Richard, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Dad isn't sick…" Richard began, hugging his little sister, "The guards poisoned him." He finished. He felt Alice tense within his hug and he tightened his hold on her. Richard could only imagine how hard it was for Alice; on her first day out of Barons she was attacked by one of the trusted guards and her father was poisoned by the guards back at her home. Either way she would've been in great danger.

Being only seven, Alice didn't quite understand, "What do you mean he was poisoned? Daddy's still going to be okay, right Richard?" She looked up at her brother but before he said anything, a pair of maids began to escort the two siblings down the hallway.

"You mustn't loiter about your father's doors while he's recovering." He maids excused their actions in unison as they ushered them away, "Why don't you two go get something to eat? You must be starving after being out for a whole night without a single bite of food to eat!" They followed the two blondes into the dining room where they were seated together and butlers carried out food.

Once food had been placed in front of them, the maids bowed, "Your Uncle Cedric will join you momentarily. Please wait for his arrival before you begin to eat." They bowed again before exiting and leaving the two alone with a group of guards who were prepared to give their lives for the safety of the royalty. It hadn't taken long for the king's brother, Cedric to arrive and take his seat on the other side of the table, facing Alice and Richard.

Cedric put his food on his plate as did Richard and Alice before speaking, "So I take it you two are doing well and are in good health?" Cedric began, "It's such a shame for your father's falling ill to cut your trip to Lhant short."

Alice nodded while Richard could only glare at his uncle. His sister couldn't help but wonder what the hostility was for but she dismissed it and allowed herself to fully enjoy her breakfast as she went to bite into a warm pastry but her brother kicked her underneath the table. Alice looked up at him and he bit into the same type of pastry, tasting every bit of it. When he had swallowed, he paused them sighed, "Sorry, I twitched." She then resumed eating her food, "And it was really disappointing to have to come back after only for a short time but I'm glad we were told rather than find out when we were supposed to return." She always did talk older than she really was.

The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence. Richard looked up every once in a while at Cedric but other than that, no interaction was between anyone at the table. As they were just finishing, a maid came into the room, "I apologize if I'm interrupting but there's an Asbel Lhant here requesting to see you, Prince Richard and Princess Alice." She curtsied gracefully, "He is waiting with his party at the valkines cryas."

The two got together some quick disguises to avoid being crowded by civilians trying to have a chat with them or being told how adorable they were walking down the streets together. Richard changed clothes and put on a green hat while Alice changed into a cute little black a white dress that stopped halfway down her thigh. She twisted her hair into a bun and attached it to the back of her head with a clip and put a long, elegant white feather with lavender tips into her hair.

Richard stood and looked down at Alice, "Come on, let's go find Asbel." He looked to Cedric and asked for his dismissal before running off with Alice, happy to be away from Uncle Cedric. The two rushed out of the castle and down the stairs to the ground level. There was a higher ground that led to the country of Windor's valkines cryas, Gloandi, Richard spotted Asbel, Cheria, and Sophie standing by the enormous cryas and smiled, "Isn't it amazing? Gloandi is what keeps Windor alive." He crossed his arms as he stood behind them, Alice standing behind him and to the side.

"Richard! Alice!" Asbel exclaimed as they all turned around to face he royal siblings, "We've been waiting for you two!" Sophie and Cheria seemed pleased to see the two again as well despite only meeting momentarily. But they all shared something; Richard, Asbel, Sophie, and Alice, they all had the pact.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Richard began, "We got caught up in some breakfast with our uncle." He passed them and stood in front of the valkines cryas; Alice followed her brother and admired the life-giving rock-like structure.

Alice smiled, "I love coming down here; it's so pretty!" She looked around to her friends, "But we should probably get going; you all didn't come here just to stare at the cryas, did you?" Alice walked to Asbel and the others, "Come on; let's go check out the Knight Academy!" She then ran off towards the academy without anyone else.

Despite being so dependent on her brother and hateful of solitude, she really did have a problem with running off in areas she's comfortable with. Richard sighed, "She really needs to stop doing this kind of thing… Let's go get her before she runs into trouble." He smiled and they began chasing after the young princess.

Richard saw that his sister was running into the center of the Knight Academy's front court just as an older man left the building and was walking down the steps. The small girl wasn't watching her step and slammed straight into the man. Alice fell to the floor, her feather falling out and the bun popped out of form, letting her hair fall all over the place in long locks of blonde.

Quickly pulling his hat down over his face, Richard spoke, "That man knows me, and he'll definitely recognize me!" He exclaimed quietly.

The man looked down at Alice and knelt beside her, "Princess Alice, are you alright?" He asked, taking her hand and pulling her up as he grabbed the feather and clip. He threaded the feather back into her hair with a smile, meeting the young girl's eyes, "I'm sorry about that, your highness."

Alice looked up and blinked, her face flushing red, "Oh, it's alright, Captain Malik. I'm okay…" She looked back towards her brother and the man took Alice's hand and led her back to the others.

"Does this belong to you, Prince Richard?" The man asked with a smile as he saw straight through the boy's disguise and ushered Alice to her brother, "Learn to be a little more careful, would you princess?" He finished.

Nodding, the young princess smiled, "Yes, sir!" She saluted the man with a joyful smile and the man walked away. The entire time Asbel had been staring at the military captain with such envy and admiration that Alice thought he would barrage him with questions and request to take him in.

The group of children spent the rest day wandering through the street while Richard and Alice would explain to them the significance of the place to the city. They had eventually come to the Sanctuary, a few guards stationed outside, "So we can get inside the castle from here?" Asbel asked, turning to Alice and Richard.

Alice nodded, "Yep," She answered, "There's a passage into the sanctuary over there." She pointed to a corner of the building that concealed the hidden path to the inside of the castle, "We use it all the time to get out of the castle. Let's meet here tonight and we can get you into the castle for a tour!"


	4. The Dreadful Night

It was the middle of the night as Alice escaped from her bedroom and met her brother in the hallway. Despite being guarded, Alice had persuaded the guards to ignore them sneaking out of the castle, "Let's go meet Asbel and the others outside the Sanctuary."

"You go get them," Richard answered with a shake of his head, "I'll go through the tunnels and meet you guys inside." He smiled at his sister before he ushered her off and out into the capital by herself.

Outside, it was dark and scary to Alice. She didn't like being alone never mind being outside, all alone, at night. She was grateful to know the way to the Sanctuary and have it a very short distance from her castle. She was already late to their meeting because she had fallen asleep by accident. The princess raced through the streets and came up to the meeting place where the others seemed to have been there for quite some time, "Sorry I'm so late everyone… Richard's going to meet us inside, okay?"

"Alright," Asbel smiled as he turned towards the direction the princess had pointed to earlier that day, "So you said there's secret entrance around here somewhere?" He wondered aloud, turning to look at Alice.

She nodded, "Yeah, come on, follow me." She walked past Asbel and stopped in front of Hubert, Cheria, and Sophie, "Hello," She greeted, "I'm sorry I was late you three." She apologized before continuing to ta small door cut into an enormous wooden wall. She pulled the door open by using the hidden handle and held it for the others as she hurried them inside, "Quickly."

Once everyone got in without being seen, she skipped over to the other side while everyone else had stopped at a waterfall created by the architects who had built the building, "That's a waterfall; it said that the water it gives is some of the healthiest water in Windor. It's called Water of Absolution." She sighed, surprised she remembered what her brother told her, "Come on, the entrance is this way." The princess felt around the stone wall before getting it to slightly rotate. She opened it halfway, opening the entrance, "Get it before someone comes."

Asbel took Cheria's hand and led her inside while Sophie and Hubert followed in afterwards. Alice took one last look around before jumping inside and pushing the door closed again. She could tell Hubert and Cheria were already getting nervous in the place, "Don't worry, it may be old but it isn't haunted… Well, as far as I know." She assured them while she walked past the group and down a distinct path, "Richard should be closer to the castle than the sanctuary…"

"How many times have you used this place, Alice?" Cheria wondered almost in a whisper. Alice replied with a number she obviously made up for she answered with 'like-forty times'. This answer only made Cheria more nervous as they continued quickly. Suddenly, Cheria stopped.

Hubert looked at her, keeping his hands to his chest, "W-What's wrong, Cheria?" He asked, his whole body shaking in fear and nervousness. He looked around before he saw a yellow, ghostly creature moving towards them with two bats.

Asbel took out his sword while Alice prepared her own blade for a battle, "Come on, and get ready," Alice called back, "They're not that strong but they can still hurt us." Hubert pulled out two stick-like weapons while Sophie balled her hands into fists.

As the bats came down, Alice set to work on one while Sophie helped Hubert with the other one. Asbel went straight for the ghostly creature while Cheria kept her distance, clearly unknowledgeable in the arts of fighting. Alice defeated her bat with an uppercut then while airborne, came down on the ghost, killing it. Sophie and Hubert had finally felled theirs and they were at ease again, "Let's go before more come." Asbel suggested. Everyone agreed and began racing through the underground catacombs of Barona.

It had taken them awhile to fight through the monsters that lurked underneath Barona but eventually they had made it to an opening. The children entered the cleared area and at an altar was someone's small, limp body. Alice's eyes went wide immediately and she ran to the person's side. It was Richard, laying there seemingly lifeless without a sound, "Richard! Richard, wake up!" She shook him vigorously. The others approached her but turned as a quiet whirling noise began. Alice stood and faced an enormous ball of red and black; it had an ominous feeling to it and somewhat terrified Alice.

Suddenly, from the ball appeared a terrifyingly large creature that grew in size until it was nearly seven times the height of Alice's small body. It had a razor-like back, one glowing red eyes and had a ghostly lower body as it leaned over the group of children. Asbel and Alice took out their weapons, "You did this didn't you!" Alice screamed as the two armed children jumped up at it.

However, the creature lashed out, sending all of the kids flying across the area, knocking most unconscious except the two attackers. Asbel tried to get back up while Alice was in so much pain that she couldn't move. But she watched as Sophie got up and defended Asbel before it could finish off the boy, "Sophie!" Asbel exclaimed.

"I'll protect you, Asbel." Sophie answered, looking back to smile at him before she began to glow, her purple pigtails slowly floating up into the air as the light emitting from her grew brighter and brighter, "Graaa- Ahhh!" Sophie ran at the horribly creature at full speed and as she attacked, the light grew so bright that it blinded Alice and Asbel. Just as it faded, Asbel passed out and Sophie was gone, leaving the black and red ball back in place, floating in the air.

Alice could feel consciousness slowly slipping away from her as her brother slowly stirred. He could hardly push himself up as he spotted Alice, "Alice…?" He coughed and could tell his health was failing, "No… I don't want to die!" Richard exclaimed. His eyes looked up to see the ball of light getting closer to him.

His little sister watched from half-open eyes as the creature completely enveloped her brother as he screamed out. She could only manage one thing before she had completely faded away into the cold unconscious state.

"Brother!"


	5. 7 Years Later

Seven years had passed since that day as for Alice, it seemed as though it was yesterday. After she had fallen unconscious, Lord Aston and the guards found them and brought them all to safety. It was never reported that Richard had ever been there in the first place. However, Richard had remained changed since that day. One of his brown eyes had gone a terrifying shade of red and he seemed less happy than before that day.

The King had died not long after the incident and Richard told his sister that it was their Uncle Cedric who had poisoned their father and just recently, attempted murder of Richard. Alice never would've thought that they would now be running for their lives down the same paths they had ran down seven years ago when sneaking into the castle.

It was fairly early in the day as Richard held tightly onto his sister's hand, racing away from a group of guards who had given chase to them. All of the guards were turning against the royal family as they allied themselves with Richard's uncle Cedric. Poison still rested in Richard's body but he fought it with all his might. His number one priority was to protect Alice from the guards-turned-bad.

Alice was now fourteen years old, her brother eighteen and they didn't look much different from that of when they were kids. Alice's hair was still to about her knees but she had it wrapped up into a bun attached to her head with hard-stemmed feathers. And her brother's had grown out. Alice's eyes got lighter with her age while Richard's left eye turned red from the accident years ago.

"Keep running!' Richard ordered as he faced the group of soldiers, looking back at Alice as she stopped feet behind him, hesitant to leave her brother's side, "Go now! You need to escape, Alice!" He finished as he slashed at one soldier and clashed blades with another, "Alice!" He roared when she still hadn't moved.

Taking a short step forward, Alice quickly turned and ran the other direction, away from her brother and the guards. But suddenly, two guards ran up on her and she quickly pulled out her bow and sent an arrow through the air, hitting the guard square in the jugular. Alice sidestepped as the second charged at her and slashed across her arm. She kicked the guard as he passed and sent him tumbling down the dark chasm.

She held onto her arm as she pressed forward but heard more footsteps. This time it sounded like a lot of movement and she began high-tailing it back to her brother who was working on the last two soldiers. Alice jumped up over Richard and shot an arrow at the first soldier and took out her sword with the other hand, stabbing the man through a slit in his armor where head met body.

The two siblings collapsed to the ground, exhausted from the running yet Alice heard more coming. She grabbed her brother's arm, "Richard, we have to keep going or else we'll die down here!" She shook him gently, "And I won't go without you, brother!" She could feel tears start up in her eyes but she blinked them away as she jumped to her feet and turned her bow on the approaching footsteps, "Don't you dare come any closer!"

A pair of un-armored people appeared around the corner, their hands flying into the air before Alice shot at them. One reminded Alice of a painful memory of her friend dying right in front of her and she felt her arm shake, "Who are you and what are you two doing down here? How do you know of this place?" The hesitated to answer her as they could only stare, "Answer me, now!"

A red haired boy with pure, light blue eyes slowly put his hands down, "You showed me this place, Alice. Remember?" He stepped forward, "It's me, Asbel Lhant."

Alice slowly lowered her weapon, pointing it at the ground before collapsing from exhaustion, "Asbel, thank goodness it's you…" She looked up at the memory lane girl, "is that you... Sophie?" She wondered aloud, looking straight into the look-alike's eyes.

Sophie nodded and a smile spread across Alice's face and Richard slowly stood as Asbel helped him to his feet, "Asbel, you came…" Richard muttered as more guards approached the group. Asbel stood in front of them and Sophie joined him as well, "Alice, come on, get up." He hoisted his sister up onto his back and carried her away from the fight a few feet before stopping and leaned her against the cavern wall.

While Asbel and Sophie fought off the guards, Richard sat beside his sister, placing a hand on her forehead. She had consumed a small amount of poison and he hoped it wouldn't kill her. But with a body as small as hers, any amount of ingested poison could kill her. Alice hadn't grown much at all since she was seven and stopped growing at five feet and two inches. As Richard felt his sister's head, he realized she was burning up a little and was struck with fear, "Alice, please don't fight anymore, you have a temperature…"

Alice looked up at her brother and didn't make sound as her gaze carried over to Asbel and Sophie just when they finished their fight. Richard stood up and held his hand down to Alice as he pulled her up to her feet, "Alice is getting sick… All this running around is really getting to her." He looked at Asbel, "We've been running for hours now."

Sophie tilted her head slightly, one pigtail touching the cavern floor, "Sick..?" She repeated so quietly that no one had heard her. She seemed confused by the concept of sickness but it was expected of a girl as strange as Sophie.

"Richard," Asbel began, "You're injured too. Come on, we should get out of here." Everyone nodded in their agreement as they began to walk down the cavern's path, listening carefully for the sounds of soldier's footsteps. Alice could feel themselves coming closer to the place where Richard had changed and her muscles grew tense and she dug her nails into her brother's arm.

He looked down at Alice with a puzzled look, "Alice? What's wrong?" He wondered, placing a hand on her head, "That hurts, you know." Richard then realized where they all were and he informed Asbel that they were getting close to that cold, horrible place that changed all of them for better or worse.

Once Asbel had found a secret passageway, the group wasted no time racing out of there as fast as possible. While everyone was full of endless energy, Alice felt like she would drop at any moment. But she kept up with the others, forcing herself to stay awake as they travelled through the last stretch of the cavern.

It took a while for everyone to truly comprehend where they were. It was the Barona Highlands but none of them were aware that the cavern had led to the place. It was around noon time when they had exited the cavern and the sudden light hurt their eyes. Alice shielded herself from the blinding light as she stepped out further, "Looks like we've made it." Richard pointed out.

"We should stop somewhere to rest," Asbel suggested, "Do you two know of anywhere we could go?" He wondered, looking over to Richard as he stood beside his sickened sister. All color had now added from her face and she looks absolutely horrid. She wandered over to the shore and removed her boots and tights, placing her feet in the cold water to cool her body down.

Sophie approached Alice while Asbel and Richard discussed a place to stop a rest. When the purple-haired girl stopped, she gave a confused look at Alice, "What are you doing?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Huh?" Alice looked at Sophie, "Oh, well typically, your body temperature is decided by the condition of your feet and head. If they're cold, your body temperature drops. When their hot, it rises." She paused as she bent down to splash her face, "Since I'm getting a fever, I'm trying to cool myself down so I won't be so drained."

Not understanding in the slightest, Sophie returned to Asbel as the group began to move onward, "Come on, Alice!" Richard called over his shoulder. She quickly gathered her things and rushed across the road to her brother. They stopped a little bit down the road at a small hut for a short rest. Alice set her things back down and sat between Richard and Asbel as Sophie wandered a few feet away.

"Richard, what caused all of this back in Barona?" Asbel asked with a tilt of his head.

Richard sighed, "Our father was murdered by the knights who had sworn to protect him and his family." He began his explanation, "They would've killed us two but we hid amongst the bodies as escaped into the cavern.

Asbel shook his head, "I can't believe that the knights would do such a thing…" He trailed, "And to think that I was studying right there to become just like them." When Richard inquired about his leaving Lhant, Asbel replied with, "My father died recently too during battle and I was the next in line for the title of Lhant's lord… So I resigned. If I hadn't, I could be chasing you two down right about now."

Alice frowned at the mentioning of possibly being one to chase her and her brother down if things had turned out differently, "Well, I'm glad you're with us, Asbel…" She added in quietly. Her head was much cooler now that she had splashed her face with the ocean's water, "You saved our lives, Asbel…"

"Yeah," Richard smiled, "Just like you did seven years ago." He looked over to Asbel, "I remember were fleeing the castle, I thought of that time and wished you'd come save us again…." His gaze fell on Alice as she lay down on the ground, "And you came… You actually came. You have no idea how happy I was to see you… You're special, Asbel… You really are one of the only people Alice or I have ever truly trusted."

Confused, Asbel looked back at Alice, "She hasn't trusted anyone?" He asked worriedly, it wasn't healthy for someone so young to have had never trusted anyone before now.

"Ever since Bryce turned on us she has been terrified of trusting anyone that comes near her…" He looked saddened, as if tears threatened to break him, "That's why… Well that's why she's always right by my side. She's afraid that she'll be killed if she isn't with me… She even sleeps in my room now." He finished.

Alice allowed her brother to explain her insecurities to Asbel; she saw no harm in it whatsoever. After all, it was Asbel. As long as he had left the Knights, he would be okay to tell inside information to, right? "So what are your plans after all of this ends?" Richard asked.

"Well, things are complicated right now." Asbel replied, "Our alliance with Strahta has changed everything…" Richard and Alice were both confused by this statement, they weren't aware of such an alliance. Their father wasn't the kind of man to ally himself with other countries, "A little while ago, the Strahtan military arrived in Lhant and is currently stationed there."

"That's interesting… So the alliance happened just about the time of the uprising in Barona…" Richard trailed off as he went into deep thought about the circumstances.

Suddenly, Sophie came running back to them in panic, "Asbel, someone's coming!" Alice bolted upright and the three of them stood up. They all readied their weaponry as they looked around.

"It's the Prince!" A soldier shouted as a group of them approached the group. Richard pushed Alice back towards the hut, she was far too affected by the poison to fight this battle, "The Princess too!" The leader of the squad pointed in Alice's direction, "Get the Princess first! We get her and we get the Prince!"

Richard glanced over his shoulder at his sister, "Alice, stay back at all costs! Don't let them get you!" Alice nodded and prepared herself, putting on a fierce façade to make her foes think she was fully capable of fighting.

The lead soldier raced forward at Richard while three others ran straight past them; two being stopped by Asbel and Sophie. The third soldier that passed by ran straight for Alice, thrusting forward with his sword. She quickly stopped back and parried the blade with her own sword, "Don't kill her, you idiot!" One soldier shouted.

Alice jumped to the side as the soldier put his sword in its sheathe and tried to hit her in the stomach with the hilt of his sword. He quickly slashed at her again and was the two clashed swords; he spun around Alice and wrapped his arm around the young girl's neck. Alice struggled against the man with little success and she was shaking as the poison began to move faster through her body, "Got her!" The soldier yelled.

Richard panicked for a bit but then smiled, he knew exactly what was about to happen. He made eye contact with his sister and gestured to his left side, placing his thumb on his hip bone. Alice smirked and reached for a dagger in her belt, stabbing it into the same place Richard had gestured to on the soldier. At that exact point was the break in armor and injured him enough for Alice to turn around and finish him off.

Asbel and Sophie defeated the last three while Richard helped his sister back up to her feet. With her blood pressure rising, the poison in her blood would pump through her body even faster than before. If she kept it up with the fighting, she would be dead by the end of the day, "No more fighting, okay Alice?"

She nodded and the other two came over to them, "It looks like our uncle has resorted to force to gain control of Windor..." Richard stated when they had reached the two siblings.

"Why is he doing this?" Asbel asked.

"Listen Asbel," Richard began, "We need to go to Duke Dalen, a distant relative of ours. He's been loyal to my father since the day he became King. He holds the largest army in Windor and I need it to fight my Uncle Cedric and the Knights. I want to know… Will you help me defeat my Uncle?"

Asbel nodded enthusiastically, "Of course I will! I don't know if I'll be that much of an aid to you but I'll definitely do my best to be of some use." He replied with a wide smile, "Both you and Alice, I'll stay by your side as long as you want me to." He stepped forward and held out his hand to the siblings.

Alice and Richard placed their hands on Asbel's, "Thank you, Asbel." The two siblings replied in unison with a smile, Alice added, "Just like our old friendship pact!" She looked back at Sophie, "Come on, Sophie, you too!" Sophie came over and cautiously put her hand on the others, touching Richard's hand only for a moment.

Suddenly, a spark of black energy appeared and Sophie retracted her hand immediately, hiding behind Asbel and Richard took a step back, holding his arm in pain. Alice lightly placed her hands on his arm, "Richard are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" She asked worriedly.

"What just happened?" Asbel added.

Richard shook his head, "I don't know… It's strange but a chill just ran up my arm…" He trailed as he looked down at Alice, placing a hand on her head, "Don't worry, Alice, I'll be okay. But we need to get to Gralesyde as fast as possible."


	6. Pascal the Eccentric

"Hey, Richard," Alice began, looking up at her brother as they continued sown the road, "Don't we have to go through Wallbridge before we get to Gralesyde?" She wondered aloud, slightly worried, "That area, it's controlled by Uncle Cedric, right?"

Richard kept looking forward, "That's right," He replied as he walked towards the large gate in the distance, "Don't worry though," He smiled at her, "Your big brother with keep you safe, just like I promised." The Prince picked up his speed, keeping up with Asbel while Sophie was hanging back with Alice.

The young Princess sighed, "Honestly, why does he insist on talking to me like I'm a seven year old..?" She wondered aloud, hardly conscious of Sophie's close presence beside her as she carried on with her mumbling.

"You don't want your brother to care about you?" Sophie asked, confused by Alice's conflicted feelings about her older brother. Her head tilted, dragging a pig tail on the ground as they walked.

Alice shook her head, "That's not it, exactly," She began, trying to figure out how she could explain it to Sophie, "It's just that… Well, I'm glad that Richard cares about me but I wish he'd care less, do you get it?" She asked, hoping that was clear enough for her. But when Sophie shook her head, Alice elaborated, "I mean, he cares too much. He thinks that I'm incapable of fighting for myself because of my age…" She smiled at her brother despite his back turned towards her, "I know he means well but he's practically smothering me…"

Sophie nodded, "Oh, I get it." She smiled, "So you're afraid that Richard will get too close to you and he'll suffocate you from hugging you so much that you can't breathe! Right?" She seemed quite proud of herself for the clarification of Alice's statement but the other girl just put her hand to her head and shook her head slowly.

As they approached Wallbridge, Richard and Asbel pulled the two girls behind a large boulder as they peered around it, looking for a way inside the guarded fortress. Sophie watched for a moment but then looked beside them and saw a strange girl sleeping on the ground. Alice listened as Richard tried to remember a way inside that wouldn't take them through their home of Barona which was now an unfriendly area to them.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash which startled the three who were scoping out Wallbridge. The came running around the boulder to Sophie who had her hands pushed out in front of her, "Sophie? What happened? What's down there?" He asked, looking over the cliff where a cloud of dust was rising. She ran and hid behind Asbel.

"That girl," Sophie began, pointing down the cliff, "That girl, she touched me." She answered, feeling as though that was a good enough explanation. Alice bent over the cliff, trying to see through the dust. Down below was a girl with short white hair that had red tips, and a teal-colored scarf sitting on the ground, looking at her hand while mumbling to herself.

Without warning, the girl jumped up and fan up the inclined slope, startling Alice and causing her to fall backwards on her hands. Richard pulled his sister up back on her feet while the strange girl approached Sophie again, "Oh please let me touch her again!"

Asbel stood in front of Sophie protectively while reaching for his sword, "Who are you?" He shouted at the strange girl.

"Me?" The girl pointed to herself as if it was common knowledge to know who she was exactly, "I'm Pascal! It's really nice to meet all of you!" She exclaimed, spreading her arms out wide as if wanting a hug.

Alice was intrigued by this girl and her abundance of energy and took a step forward. Richard grabbed his sister's shoulder, "Don't go near her," He warned, "She has crazy written all over her. You might catch the insanity." He joked as if the state of no sanity was some kind of horribly contagious disease.

"What do you want with Sophie?" Asbel questioned, not about to let his guard down when he only knew her name. He was extremely cautious of who he allowed to be near Sophie. It reminded Alice of her own relationship with Richard.

Pascal began to swoon and go insane over the fact that she had seen Sophie, "It's just like so cool, I never thought I'd ever see one in person!" She put on a wide smile, "It's just like meeting some super-famous celebrity!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together once.

"See a real what?" Asbel replied, confused.

Pascal put a hand on her hip and pointed at Asbel, "I mean I just saw her as an illusion in the ruins just a little while ago!" She straightened, "And now meeting her in real life is like, super-cool, right!?"

Alice finally spoke up, "What are you talking about when you say "Illusion"?" She asked, stepping away from her brother, "DO you actually know something about our Sophie?" Alice finished, crossing her arms.

The girl tapped her foot and touched her chin with her hand, resting her arm on the other, "Well, yeah… I suppose I know about her but it'll be a little hard to explain. How about I just show you guys instead?"

After agreeing to follow Pascal to find the illusion of Sophie, they walked down the cliff to a panel on the ground, "You can use this to PSHEW down to the ruins! That's where I saw that illusion of your friend, here!" Pascal stated with a rather exaggerated happiness

Richard crossed his arms, "There are actually ruins here?"

"I know right!?" Pascal exclaimed, "I was so super-surprised when I first so but it's like, un-believably cool!" She then calmed down a little, "And of course be able to avoid that stupid bridge was a plus too."

"But aren't there soldiers in the ruins?" Alice asked, "I mean, it _is_ underneath Wallbridge." She pointed up. Pascal shook her head in reply and Alice turned to Richard and Asbel, "What do you guys think?"

Asbel placed a hand on his chin, "Well we might as well take a look if she's willing to show us…" He looked over at Sophie, "And besides, I'm curious about the illusion of Sophie that Pascal said she saw down there." Richard agreed with Asbel then turned to Pascal.

"You're all coming?" Pascal asked, shaking back and forth a little, "That's awesome!" She exclaimed, "Let's all go together, then!" And with that, she turned around and stepped on the panel, "Alright kiddies, all aboard the portal-woosh-thingy! Please keep your hands and feet inside the portal at all times!"

In an instant they had all teleported underground to a large labyrinth of ruins that had an ominous, blue glow to it. Everyone took the time to soak in every detail of the area before speaking, "We didn't even move… Who could ever build such technology as advanced as this?" He wondered, directing the question at Pascal.

She gave Richard a look as if he were completely stupid, "The Amarcians, of course!" She exclaimed, "They were built a really long time ago so it's a no-brainer that they'd look different. They're probably, at the least, five hundred years old? Maybe even six…" She trailed off, lost in a day dream.

"Who are the Amarcians?" Asbel asked.

Even Alice was surprised that Asbel didn't know of the Amarcians, they were pretty well known, making it common knowledge. But nevertheless, Pascal explained things to him, "The Amarcians are an old tribe from a long time ago that were super advanced with they're technology! They've left strange ruins all over the place!"

"Pascal," Alice began, Are you an Archeologist or something?" She asked as she began walking around the area, surveying what was beneath them. It looked like nothing was keeping them airborne and below them was a bottomless pit.

"I guess you could call it that…" Pascal replied, "Oh! Oh! Since I just gave you information, how about you let me touch your friend here!?" She began moving her fingers as she took a step towards Sophie. When she hid behind Asbel, Pascal seemed extremely depressed, "Come on, pleeeeeease?"

"Can we just get going…?" Asbel asked in a distressed tone as if the whole ordeal annoyed him more than anything. Pascal quickly agreed and they were off again.

Richard and Alice were hanging at the back of the group while Pascal, Sophie, and Asbel walked a few feet ahead. The two siblings walked in silence until suddenly, Alice began to feel faint. She had forgotten about that poison running through her and it was starting to act up again. She immediately collapsed to her knees and Richard bent down, calling to the others to stop, "I'm sorry…" Alice apologized when everyone had gathered, "But can we take a short rest?"

Asbel placed his sword on the ground as he help Richard bring his sister to the side of the area so that the group could sit in a circle, "Of course we can." He replied, sitting beside Alice. Richard sat on the other side of her with Pascal between him and Sophie.

"Ya 'know what I just realized?" Pascal began out of the blue, "Richard and Alice look exactly alike! It's like they're the male or female version of each other!" She inspected closer, "The resemblance between the two is almost kinda scary…" She than began to count on her fingers the amount of similarities, "Same color hair, they both wear their hair long, brown eyes, pale skin…"

Richard and Alice had given the most dumbfounded look at Pascal; if she hadn't figured it out by now then she must be a complete idiot. Not being planned, both siblings responded at once, "That's because we're siblings." The announced simultaneously then looked at each other, surprised by their unison.

Pascal's eyes went wide and all movement topped. Even Asbel was somewhat freaked out by the terrifying resemblance that became so obvious now, "That was strange…" Asbel muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Not weird," Pascal added, "That was so cool!" She exclaimed. She suddenly jumped forward and grabbed Alice's hands, "It's like you're his mini-me! It's just so cute that I can't stand it!" Alice tugged her hands away from the girl, "Aw come on, and you're so shy!"

Alice already didn't feel good and with Pascal practically on her she wasn't feeling any better. Her brother finally spoke up for his sister, "Pascal, would you please leave her alone? She's very ill and crowding her isn't going to help the situation." Richard laid down on the ground, his head near his sister's feet.

They were only resting for about fifteen minutes when Alice stretched out, "Are you sure you're ready, Alice?" Asbel asked, concerned for the young girl as she pushed herself up to her feet. Alice nodded and looked up at her brother who didn't quite believe that she was okay to keep moving.

"Richard," The young princess began, "It's okay, I'll be fine, really." She assured him before walking off along with Asbel and Pascal, "Honestly you worry way too much, big brother." She called over her shoulder when he hesitated to follow. With a sigh, the King followed, Sophie racing past him to Asbel.

The party moved through the ruins without much trouble. Richard and Asbel had sustained some injuries while the girls managed to escape battles with only a few scrapes and bruises. But of course, these small scratches on Alice seemed like deep gouges in her body. He fawned over his little sister until she pushed him away as they approached a strange device in the center of a large area, "Well, this is the illusion thingy where I saw Sophie!" Pascal stated, walking over to it.

Richard and Asbel stood beside Pascal while Sophie and Alice hung back a little, giving them some space. Just then, Sophie's head turned sharply towards the direction they had come from, "Something is coming this way…" Alice slid her sword from her sheathe as the others turned around, "Its footsteps sound strange."

"Yikes! What is that!?" Pascal exclaimed as a long, light blue, reptilian-like creature crawled towards them with a fierce, murderous look to it. She took out her staff and bounced between her feet, excited by the thrill of a good battle. The others prepared themselves as well.

Suddenly, the monster jumped forward, lashing out at Sophie who flipped back until she was out of its grasp. Asbel slashed across the monster as Alice followed suit, slashing up from the monster's belly, across its shoulder, and to the top of its back. Meanwhile, Pascal casted frost spells at the monster which seemed to weaken it greatly.

Alice dropped down low, avoiding the creature's whip with its tail but as she turned to strike, it spun around again, slamming Richard and Alice into two pillars on either side of the area. Alice pushed herself up, shaking her head vigorously while Richard leaned against the pillar as he slid back up, "Alright then…" Alice muttered, "Richard, come on. Toss me."

The girl ran at her older brother who stood with his back to the creature. As she grew closer, Richard held out his hand to Alice and the instant she touched it, he pulled her off the ground and threw her over the monster. She pointed her sword downward and pierced the creature's body at the center of its back. It writhed around, needed to be finished off by Sophie and Asbel before Alice could dismount. She got off the creature and brushed herself off, "A minor distraction…" She muttered to herself.

Asbel made sure everyone was okay before looking at the device, "So how does it work?" He asked. Pascal proceeded to use nearly ten different 'words' that Alice highly doubted were actually words at all, "I have no idea what you just said… At all." Asbel replied with a shake of his head. Pascal prompted Asbel to try it for himself. He played with the device until he gave up after about three minutes.

Pascal then sighed and crossed her arms, "Step aside, level one-er." She waved off Asbel as she approached the machine. She was only at the machine for a few moments when the big floating structure behind the machine began to spin. The structure split into twelve different pieces and were suspended in the air.

As the rest of the group approached, a holographic picture of Sophie appeared in the center of the pieces. The picture was a little foggy but it was, without a doubt, the same Sophie as the one with them, "It's me!" Sophie exclaimed in her small, quiet voice. Alice glanced back to the young girl and then back to the picture, confirming the claim.

"So Pascal wasn't just leading us down here to kill us…" Alice concluded, raising a hand to her chin, "I thought for sure some blood would've been spilled just now…" She looked over to Pascal and bowed, "My apologies for doubting you, Pascal."

With an over-exaggerated expression, Pascal bent over, her arms dangling in front of her, "You thought I was trying to kill you?" She questioned, sounding slightly depressed, "You're the most untrusting person I've ever met… Do I really look like a killer?"

"You must excuse my sister, Pascal," Richard began, "She doesn't trust very easily for a good reason. But I'm sure that now she's seen you mean no harm that you've earned her trust." He apologized on his sister's behalf. This was something Richard had grown accustom to as she unknowingly turned down many boys who showed interest in her.

Back in Barona Alice had received the name 'The Royal Heartbreak'. She was oblivious to boys as they tried to secure a date with the young princess and it had even become a game and the main focus of many bets. Boys would approach Alice and if whoever got a date the fastest was the winner. But since that there have been no winner so far as Alice had never been on a date, the rules also state that whoever lasts the longest in a conversation with her is the winner by default.

Pascal perked up when she heard that there was a reason behind Alice's mistrust in people and grabbed the young princess's hands, "A reason, you say? Tell me! Tell me!" She pleaded in her own pushy way.

Alice groaned, "I'm having second thoughts in trusting you."

Meanwhile, Asbel was looking back from Sophie to the machine, "Pascal's right though, it does look like Sophie…" He turned back around to the others with Sophie mimicking him exactly without intention.

"Now you have to understand why I wanted to touch Sophie so badly!" Pascal exclaimed happily as she lunged for Sophie. The purple-haired girl hid behind Asbel for protection, "I just couldn't resist the urge to touch such an interesting girl!" Alice watched Pascal in absolute amazement; she couldn't believe that she had gone from being a princess to getting help from someone like Pascal in an underground ruin.

Richard turned around to the device again then looked at Pascal, "So this device…" He began, "It was built by the Amarcians, right? That old-age group of scientists?" He clarified afterwards. The future king held a high interest in the strange device that showed a mirror image of his old friend.

Pascal nodded, "That's what I've been thinking!" She exclaimed, "But I'm still researching it. I only just found it the other day so I can't just go 'this belonged to the Amarcians' and then BOOM, case solved, you know?" She smiled, "But yeah, it's most likely from the Amarcians based on the kind of technology used. There's no way regular humans built this thing." The picture of Sophie then faded away until it was gone from the projection, "Aw… It's gone."

Asbel looked to Sophie again, "Did seeing that… Projection help you remember anything from your past? Maybe you've been here before and just don't remember." He asked, helping the young girl find out where she came from. The purple-haired girl shook her head, "Huh…"

"So this could all just be one big coincidence," Alice answered, "Although there's a strong likelihood that this does have something to do with Sophie, there's also the chance it isn't at all… I mean even twins don't look that identical."

"This thing should totally come with an instruction manual…" Pascal muttered, "And this thing must be insanely old, you know? 'Cause all these letters are so faded and smudged that I can barely read it!" She leaned forward and her eyes went to slits, "But if I squint a lot, I can read something that I think says 'Lambda.' But nothing else…"

Alice raised an eyebrow, "The hell's a Lambda?"

Sophie quietly repeated the word, "I feel like I've heard that somewhere before… But I can't really remember where exactly or what it means."

Asbel shook his head, "Are you sure that you can't read anything else, Pascal?" He asked, "Can you make sure that there are no more clues on that thing?" He requested politely. Pascal looked over the machine again, double checking for any words she would read off of it. After a few moments, the white haired girl stepped away, shaking her head and apologizing.

Richard sighed and began to move away, "We have no time to stay down here and take such a lengthy detour," He began, pushing Alice along with him, "We need to get to Gralesyde as fast as possible so if you don't mind I'd like to find a way out."

Alice had fallen back with Pascal as Asbel and Richard talked amongst them. The strange girl chatted as Alice as the princess was only half listening while trying to figure out what the boys were talking about. Eventually, Alice lost interest in her brother's conversation then focused on Pascal's blabbering, "And so naturally I was thinking 'what a strange octopus!' I mean, wouldn't you think the same thing. Alice?"

"I completely agree," Alice replied, only catching that last sentence. The young girl decided she didn't even want to know what Pascal was talking about, "Pascal, can I ask you something?" She turned to look at her as they continued walking.

Pascal smiled at the girl, happy to be of some use to her, "Yeah, what is it, Alice?" She asked, "Need my expert opinion on something? Or perhaps you want to know my entire life story! Well… there was that one time I almost married a carrot but then it turned out to be a female carrot-ess and she was engaged to her fiancé who she had known since they were kids and-"

For a few moments, Alice just listened to her go on and on about the strange story that if Alice had heard it from anyone else, she would think they were lying. But for whatever reason, when Pascal said it, Alice believed her entirely, "Pascal…" She finally interrupted, "Do you know anything about poisons?"

"Poisons!?" Pascal exclaimed. Alice slapped her hand over Pascal's mouth, stopping them a few feet behind the others. She licked Alice's hand and she immediately jumped back, wiping her hand on her clothes, "You're not planning on poisoning your brother, are you?" She asked in a much quieter tone, "Or maybe Asbel? Are you jealous of him for always being the focus of Richard's attention?" Pascal gasped, "Sophie! You're trying to poison Sophie! You have a crush on Asbel don't you? And Sophie's just getting in the way by stealing all his affection!"

Alice rolled her eyes and began walking again, "Ugh, never mind it was a mistake asking you of all people…"

Pascal shifted her weight, "Y'okay!" Then chased after Alice.


	7. Welcome to Gralesyde!

The group came out on the other side of Wallbridge that left them very close to Gralesyde where Alice and Richard's uncle lived, holding a grand army. Pascal danced around Sophie who stuck close to Asbel while Alice held onto Richard's arm as they came to a stop outside the ruins, "Wow, we managed to go right underneath Wallbridge."

"Now we're off to Gralesyde," Richard added, "From what I remember it wasn't far at all from this place. But then again I haven't been here in years… Last time I was probably seven or eight an Alice was just a baby… Pascal," The prince turned to the girl, "Thank you very much for your help. You will surely be rewarded once I return home."

Pascal waved her hands in front of her, "No wait, I want to come to Gralesyde too!" She smiled and began to fidget in her place, "Come on, I wanna spend more time with Sophie! Please let me stay! I wanna touch her… And study her… And touch her! I mean no offense to the rest of you but none of you are really interesting to me…"

Alice rolled her eyes, "Trust me, hearing that you hold no interest in us is a good thing. If that kind of attention is anything like what you give to Sophie I want nothing to do with your interest." She muttered.

"Can I please come? Please, please, pleeeeease!?" She exclaimed, clamping her hands together in a pleading motion, "Oh, hey Sophie!" Pascal turned to the girl hiding behind Asbel, "Who do like better; Me, Asbel, Alice, or Richard?" She asked.

"Asbel." Sophie answered shortly.

Her answer seemed to deeply depress Pascal, "Aw come on! I want you to like me too, Sophie!" She stamped her feet on the ground like a child who didn't get what they wanted. Pascal reminded Alice strongly of what the average toddler was like.

"A little… eccentric but I think she's trustworthy," Richard concluded, "What do you think, Alice?" He asked. His sister nodded and then he looked up, "Alright, as long as Asbel and Sophie are okay with it, then it looks like Pascal's a part of our team now."

Pascal jumped up and down, ecstatic about the good news, "Yippee! It's just like everyone says, right? Trips are all about meeting new friends, right?" She asked excitedly, "Looks like I'm good as these trips!"

They had only been walking for about ten minutes when Richard fell to one knee, grabbing at his chest. Alice immediately dropped down next to him, holding onto his arm as Asbel bent down as well, "Richard, are you alright, brother?" She asked frantically, genuinely concerned for her older brother. His poisoning was the only thing on her mind as of late and she couldn't bear the thought of being without him.

"We've been walking for a while, Richard," Asbel began, "Do you want to rest?" He placed a hand on his childhood friend's shoulder, trying to help him through whatever it was that was wrong with their poor friend.

Richard shook his head and forced himself up, "That won't be necessary, I wouldn't want to slow everyone down." He answered. Richard gently pushed his sister from his arm, "It's alright, Alice, I'm fine. Don't worry, alright." He brought his hand to her cheek and brushed across it briefly.

Pascal shook her head, "Come on, if you feel woozy-doozey then you shouldn't be pushing yourself like that," She warned, "Take it easy, Richard, we don't mind taking a break, right Sophie?" She looked to the girl standing next to her.

When everyone turned to look at Sophie, she was holding her hand at her chest, staring intently at Richard. The blank stare made Alice somewhat uneasy, as if something was wrong with the young girl. She slowly approached Richard without and word then held a hand out to him, touching him lightly. Suddenly, Richard hit Sophie's hand away and jumped back, "Get away!"

"Richard?" Asbel and Alice said at once.

The prince shook his head, "I-I'm terribly sorry, Sophie… You just… You just startled me, that's all." He replied, his voice shaking as if the pain was growing in addition to the shock of Sophie's touch. He looked to Alice again, "It's alright."

Sophie seemed worried about her friend and was looking for the right words to say. Pascal attempted to comfort the young girl, "Aw come on, Sophie! Richard's just shy, that's all. Like his sister is! He probably has a thing for you, Sophie! How weird would that be? Richard did get all worked up and everything!" She thought for a moment, "Ah! That means Richard's my rival! Sophie, you don't like him back do you? You can't change your mind once you pick Asbel!"

"What's wrong with you two?" Asbel asked.

Richard turned to everyone, "Sophie, Asbel, I'm sorry," He apologized, "Please forgive me?" He requested kindly with a curt bow, "I'm very tired so forgive me if I came off as a little jumpy." He looked at Alice.

"Are we friends, Richard?" Sophie wondered aloud to the blonde man. She had truly asked this as she patiently awaited his answer with no smile or expression. Alice found it quite sad that Sophie needed Richard to reassure her of his friendship. But then again, the two had been acting strange since their reuniting.

He seemed taken aback by Sophie's question and answered quickly as to not raise suspicion, "Of course we are, Sophie! Don't ever think differently, alright?" He smiled, "How about this, as long as Alice is my sister, you will be my friend." Richard then looked back at Asbel, "We should get going to Gralesyde."

* * *

It hadn't taken long for the group to reach Gralesyde where they were greeted by a lone soldier dressed in a layer of thick, steel armor. He held a spear across his body and shield in front of his torso. He slammed the bottom of the spear onto the ground, "Gralesyde is currently in a state of emergency during which none shall enter the city."

Another soldier looked over and jumped up, straightening immediately, "That's Prince Richard and the Royal Heartbreak, Princess Alice!" He seemed to be familiar with the female of royalty as h approached them, "My princess, do you remember me? My name's Aaron!"

Alice looked to the young man and shook her head, "I'm terribly sorry but I don't…" She answered politely, "I'm not too great with names as I come across so many that I've lost count." She sent him a soft smile.

"The Royal Heartbreak strikes again…" The first soldier commented as the other was depressed by Alice's answer. He then returned his attention to the Prince, "My apologies, your highness, I'll inform Duke Dalen of your arrival right away!" The second guard then ran off towards the manor.

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Pascal shouted, waving her hands, "Richard's a prince!?" She exclaimed, "And Alice is a princess?" She added, "He called her the Royal Heartbreak though… How come?" Pascal finished.

Richard nodded, "Uh…" He looked down at Alice who was completely oblivious as to why she was given the nickname herself, "I'll tell you that later." He replied nervously as Alice eyed her brother accusingly.

Sophie tilted her head, "But if Richard and Alice are a prince and princess, what does that make Asbel?"

Asbel tried to think of an adequate response to Sophie's question, "Well… I'm… I'm not really sure what I am right now… I guess I'm just a normal guy now that I don't have ym father's position to take over."

The guard that had claimed to know Alice came running down the street to Asbel and the others, "You're all free to pass with the permission of Duke Dalen himself." He and the other guard stepped aside, "I welcome you to Gralesyde."

"Ah, thank you," Richard began, "Is Duke Dalen at his manor right now?" He asked. The guard nodded his response and he turned to the others, "Then let us be off to see my uncle." He concluded, walking down towards the large mansion in the distance of the city.

"Hey, Alice," Pascal began, "Let's go take a walk around the city!" She asked as they approached Duke Dalen's manor, "Mean, after you give your uncle a good ole hello of course!" She added when Alice turned to look at her and nodded. The two girls followed Richard as he led the way into the mansion.

The young prince looked back to his sister and called her to his side. Alice jumped over to him, grabbing his hand as they headed up the stairs where Duke Dalen's office was. He was an older fellow with graying hair and an old frame. Yet his face lit up like a fire when he saw the two royal siblings, "Ah, Richard!" He exclaimed giving the boy a firm handshake and quick hug.

Richard smiled, "It's a relief that you'll have me here to help with reclaiming my throne, I appreciate your help, I really do." He then gestured to Alice with the hand he was holding hers with, "Can you guess who this is?" He asked.

Dalen peered closely at Alice until he compared the features of Richard and Alice and suddenly, realization struck him, "Oh my word, it's Alice!" Dalen shouted, wrapping the girl in a big hug, "I don't think you'd remember me, the last time I saw you, you were just born!" He stood back and got a good look at Alice, "My how you've grown… You're breathtakingly beautiful, my little princess!" He praised.

Alice curtsied before her distant uncle, "Thank you, Uncle Dalen." She replied before looking to the two, "I'm sorry but I'd like to request that I be allowed to leave for the time being," Alice began, "Brother, may I go for a walk around the city with Pascal?"

"I want you back at the city gates in an hour, all right?" He asked. Alice gave a short nod and he bent over slightly to give her a hug before sending her off with Pascal. Richard watched as his sister left the room, she had grown increasingly brave since the journey had begun.

Pascal waved to Richard, "Don't worry; I'll keep her safe, Richard!" She tried to reassure the worried older brother before walking off with Alice. The girl's skip had her leaving Alice behind as the two went downstairs and out of the manor.

Richard looked to the guards standing in the room, "Would two please follow her?" The guards then followed the girls outside, remaining far back so they wouldn't disturb the two if they were having any private conversations.

Dalen let out a short chuckle, "It does my heart good to see you so protective over your little sister, Richard." He smiled, "I remember seeing the excitement on your face when she was first born, you always were responsible. Destined to become a king with tremendous popularity." The Duke finished as Richard took a seat at the desk.

"So what did you want to go on a walk for, Pascal?" Alice asked as they walked down the street towards the two bell towers, "I doubt it's anything serious but just to let you know…" Her eyes darted back to the guards that she had spotted in the corner of her eye, "We're being followed by some guards." She warned.

Pascal glanced over her shoulder, "Oh, we are being followed." She shrugged as she looks back at Alice, "Actually, I was wondering what the real reason was when you asked what I knew about poisons. It was really bothering me and I couldn't just bring that up in front of your brother, I mean it's not exactly something he'd want his little sister talking about with a near stranger, right?" Pascal answered.

Alice looked ahead past Pascal as she let out a sigh, "Oh yeah," She had forgotten about bringing that up with Pascal while they were in the ruins, "Don't worry, it wasn't to poison my brother or anyone else but…" She took a deep breath, "Look, you can't tell anyone I said this, alright Pascal? If you say a word to anyone, I'll have you lynched!"

Frantically, Pascal brought her hands up as if in surrender, "I promise! I won't tell a soul, it'll be our little secret, okay Princess?" She winked, "If anyone asks, we were making girl talk and gossiping like old geezers in a park!"

The princess shook her head before continuing, keeping her voice low so that there was no chance the guards would hear her, "My brother and I… We've both been poisoned." She finally confessed. Pascal shrieked and went to repeat Alice's words in a much louder tone but Alice slapped her hand onto the girl's mouth and pulled her behind a corner, "Shh!"

After a few moments, Pascal stopped struggling and Alice stepped away, "Sorry, but you were really poisoned? Is that what's wrong with Richard, then? He's been poisoned?" She wondered, "But if Richard's been affected that badly, what about you? How come you're much better off? A girl your size would be dead faster than someone of Richard's size. Not that he's fat or anything, you know? He's pretty much anorexic but he's definitely bigger than you-"

"I think the poison is only a small part of Richard's problem," Alice cut off the rambling girl, "I'm afraid there's something much worse than the poison at work… We both ingested the same type of poison but Richard stopped m from eating my food. Either way though I should still have the same side-effects from the poison like the ones Richard has." Alice looked up at Pascal, "Please, Pascal! You have to know something about poisons!"

Moments of silence eventually led to Pascal gravely shaking her head, "I'm sorry, Princess," She began, "But I'm afraid I don't know much about poisons… Not many people get poisoned where I live so a lot of our most advanced medicines are for instant relief on head colds."

Alice's mood went downhill as she stepped back out onto the streets with Pascal. The two walked down the road for quite some time until they reached a short road that led to the port. She looked back at Pascal, "Do you think we have enough time to go see the port?" She asked.

"Of course!" Pascal exclaimed, "We've only been gone for like… Twenty minutes!" She began to run down the path, "Race 'ya to the port!" She shouted over her shoulders as she disappeared over a small hill. Alice took charge after her, running as fast as she could to pass Pascal.

To her surprise, Alice had beaten Pascal to the bottom and stopped by the port's edge, the water's surface directly below her. Moments later, Pascal came running down the slope way too fast and went straight over the edge. Alice bent over and caught Pascal by her belt and using all her strength, managed to pull the girl back onto land.

The two girls fell onto the ground, laughing together at Pascal's close encounter with the running straight into the water. People passed the two, not being able to help the smile that formed on their lips while they passed by. Pascal let out a big sigh as the two sat back up. She looked to Alice who was quaking form the aftermath of giggling, "Hey Alice, you're so cute when you smile."

Alice's face flushed red and she quelled her laughter, "Um… Thanks, Pascal… You know, this is the first time I've actually had fun in a very long time…" She answered, "My brother always tries to make me happy by taking me to different places and always spending time with me but I've always had to live in fear…" Her smile faded away, "Ever since my father died I've been terrified of being next."

Pascal seemed to have the upmost sympathy for Alice as she glanced at her with sorrowful eyes, "That's horrible! No one, especially anyone your age, should have to be afraid of being killed any day…" Her voice trailed off as she spoke.

They had lost themselves in meaningless conversations of little stories they had heard here and there when suddenly; a guard tapped Alice on the shoulder. She looked up to see the masked man as he stared down at her, "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, princess but we have received orders from your brother to find you and bring you to the front gates."

All the color faded from Alice's face as she realized that it was already night time. Richard had given her an hour to walk with Pascal and instead she had been gone for an hour. Alice rose to her feet, "Thank you, I shall return to my brother immediately." She looked back at Pascal, "Come on, we need to go… I'm in so much trouble…"

Although he had been dismissed, the guard didn't move, "My deepest apologies, Princess Alice but your brother's strict orders were to escort you to him." He added, "He has nullified all orders from you so if you would please come with us?" Another guard walked over, standing beside the first. With a sigh, Alice complied with her brother's orders then she and Pascal began following the guards towards the main gate.

Alice could already see the anger on Richard's face as they slowly approached. She and Pascal were still a little far away but his expression was apparent. The guards were dismissed as they came to the prince and the others, leaving Alice to Richard. Pascal had joined Asbel and Sophie behind the siblings as she watched helplessly.

It started with a stare down, the two mirror images staring into each other's eyes; Alice's full of a kind of fear that prepared her for a loud tone while Richard's had anger in them. Finally, he spoke, "I gave you an hour, Alice!" He yelled, "You were to meet us here three hours ago! Tell me, Alice, what you were thinking!?"

The young girl flinched from her brother's raised tone before she answered him, raising her own usually quiet voice, "I was enjoying myself for once!" She shot back, "I had fun for once with Pascal while you were concerned with your own position as usual! Ever since dad died you've been all about becoming king!" Tears threatened to break out, "You're different, Richard! Sure you take me places but they're all for business! It's not like you want to go there with me!"

Richard seemed angered even deeper by Alice's tone of voice with him and he held his hand back, moving it forward quickly but suddenly, someone caught his arm. Alice had closed her eyes as she prepared herself for something Richard had never done to her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Asbel holding onto Richard's arm, "What the hell are you doing!?" He yelled, "Look at your sister! She knows what she did was wrong! Don't you dare hit her, Richard!"

He looked from his hand to Alice as she shook in fear of her brother for the first time. Richard's eyes went wide as realization struck and he ripped his arm from Asbel and pulled Alice into his chest, squeezing her as tightly as he possibly could, "Alice…" He muttered softly, "I… I can't believe I almost hit you…"

Alice closed her eyes and tucked her arms in between the two, enjoying the warmth from her brother. She realized he was shaking uncontrollably as if he had scared himself. The two siblings both shook horribly as they stood in their embrace, "Richard…?" She felt like crying into his chest but fought back the urge, "You're shaking…"

The siblings stood there for a few moments in complete silence as they shook together. Alice clung onto her brother's clothing and he looked over towards Asbel with a sigh, letting go of Alice, "We should stay at the inn for the night… It's too late to go anywhere right now. Besides, we're all exhausted from the trip here. We've accomplished a lot in just one day." Richard looked back at a guard, "Please inform Duke Dalen that we will be staying in the city for the night?" The guard nodded then ran off towards the manor.

As they began to walk back, Alice and Richard didn't say a word to each other. Meanwhile, Asbel, Sophie, and Pascal spoke in hushed tones so that the royalty didn't hear them speak, "So like, what's up with Richard and Alice, huh?" Pascal began, looking up at Asbel, "And that was pretty brave, y'know? Grabbing Richard's arm even though he's the prince and all."

"Richard would never raise his hand at Alice like that…" Asbel began, "He loves her too much to ever harm her. Something's wrong with him though… I can tell." He looked to Sophie, "The way he reacted when Sophie got close to him, when we first found him he acted a similar way… And now he threatened his own sister…"

Sophie kept her head down, "Richard says he's still our friend, Asbel…" She began, "But aren't friends supposed to like being close together?" Asbel looked to the girl with sympathy; the way Richard reacted to Sophie's touch was strange, and she was most likely offended by it. Asbel wanted to answer Sophie but they had reached the inn where Richard and Alice would be able to hear them talking.

The group was taken to two large rooms that were connected by a balcony. This joint room would allow boys and girls to be separate but also allow them to be able to talk amongst themselves with the other group. The inn had left complimentary night clothing for the group so they could change and have their clothing cleaned overnight.

It had been long after everyone had gone to bed as Alice stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about the way Richard had nearly hit her for staying out too long and delaying them by a whole day. Alice realized that she never got the chance to apologize to him but figured he was already asleep and wouldn't like her waking him up. Instead, she closed her eyes and forced herself into a state of unawareness.

Alice was still awake, just not aware of her surroundings. Her breathing matched that of one who was asleep and she laid still under the covers of her bed. Suddenly, she felt someone begin to shake her awake. Alice opened her eyes to see Richard smiling at her, "Hey, come outside, I want to show you something." He prompted, pulling his sister out of bed.

She didn't say a word until they reached the balcony where she stopped. Richard pointed off at blinking lights out in the sky, "What are they…?" She asked, leaning on the railing of the balcony. Alice watched in awe at the small bulbs go on and off, they're lights as bright as a flame. She watched as one slowly bounced across the air near her face and brought her hand out to touch it.

"They're fireflies," Richard answered, standing beside his sister, "We don't have them back home in Barona but here, they're everywhere at night." He watched them along with Alice, enjoying the moment he could have with his sister, "Alice… I'm so sorry that I scared you…" He said, turning to look at her.

Alice looked up at her brother and smiled, "It's alright, Richard. I should've been keeping track of time… It's just that I was having with Pascal so I guess…" She trailed of as she collected her thoughts, "I guess it was just nice being able to hang out with someone else for a change." She finished, "Don't worry, I'm not mad or anything."

He laughed shortly before looking over the balcony again, pulling his sister close to him, underneath his arm. Alice moved closer to him as he spoke, "I'm lucky to have such a forgiving sister as you, Alice. You never complain when I have to go to another city or town, when I can't go for a walk through Barona, or when we can't try to go see Asbel at the Knight Academy…" He looked down to her for a moment, "You're very mature for your age."

"You're going to be king, Richard," Alice began, "I can't be dragging you away from your responsibilities of becoming king to talk a walk with me; I understand that. I don't need to be treated like a princess all the time. So you don't need to feel bad about telling me to leave you alone so you can concentrate." She smiled up at Richard, "I know we need to focus on usurping Cedric but right now… I'm happy. Being with Asbel and Sophie again; it's like when we were all kids! And now, we have Pascal too… But Hubert… I wonder how he's been doing in Strahta."

Richard shook his head, "So let me get this straight," He started, "You've been poisoned by your own uncle who now threatens both our lives yet you're happy to be here right now and worry only about Hubert?" He sighed, "Honestly, Alice… Sometimes you're just too confusing." He concluded, patting his sister's head.

Alice looked down, "It's not just Hubert I'm worried about, Richard… You two; you've changed since that incident seven years ago… I don't know what's happened to you and it scares me that you could die at any moment from all that poison!" She exclaimed before lowering her voice, "I don't want you to leave… I wouldn't know what to do without you…"

Suddenly, Richard pulled Alice into him, "Stop." He ordered, "Don't even think about that; I'm not leaving any time soon. When I'm gone…" He sighed, "You'll be over eighty years old. You've got such a long life ahead of you so don't live it dreading the day of my death; enjoy it."


	8. Moving Out

"WAKE UP!" Pascal yelled beside Alice. She jolted upright, slamming her forehead into the other girl's head. Their hands flew to their heads as the pain shot through. Pascal jumped back, "Ow! Hey, no need to headbutt me, Princess!" She complained, "Your brother just told me to wake you up, y'know?"

The princess rubbed her forehead as she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and rose to her feet. She looked around for her clothes and found them lying on the edge of her bed, folded neatly over the edge. Alice gathered them in her arms and took them to a separate room where she could change in privacy. When she had finished, everyone was gone.

"They've gone downstairs, my Princess." A maid answered her unspoken question. She graciously thanked the woman before skipping down the stairs, to find her brother and the others waiting in the main area of the inn.

Asbel turned to look at Alice as she reached the last step, "There you are," He began, "Come on, we should get going now that we've taken a rest." He turned to leave before looking back at Alice, "How are you doing?"

It took her awhile to realize what the older boy was talking about but she looked around as they walked out of the inn, "I'm doing fine, no damage done." She added. Asbel looked down at her momentarily as Richard took a stand in front of a group of soldiers prepared to fight for the future king. Her older brother beckoned for her to come to his side as Dalen addressed his army then gave control to Richard.

Once Alice was standing by his side, he spoke, "Men of Windor!" He began, taking a few steps forward, leaving Alice behind him, "Today we shall fight for justice! I do not expect a loss in our battle today!" Richard raised his blade to the sky, "May the wind guide our blades!" He yelled across the center of the city. Civilians stood at the sides as they watched Prince Richard give his commands to the army. However, many eyes were on the silent princess standing at the back of her brother. Finally, he gave the awaited order, "Move out!"

The men have a loud war cry before they began to orderly march out of the city. Asbel and the others jumped up the stairs to Richard and Alice who stood, watching the men file out to fight for their sake. Alice was strongly moved that so many men were willing to fight to protect the royalty of their land. They were such a big contrast to those who were sworn to protect among the ranks of knights of the academy.

"Please take care, your Highness." Duke Dalen began, bowing to the Prince then to Alice as well, "May you return home to Barona safely as the just rulers of Windor. And Asbel Lhant, I wish you the best of luck as well." He finished.

Alice looked up at the others, "Thank you, Dalen." She nodded, "If we go to the ruins we'll be able to get inside of Wallbridge. We should head out now if we want to make it there before the army." She added. Asbel gave a sign of understanding by bring his arm across his chest before they began to head out of Gralesyde as well.

While they walked towards the ruins, Pascal skipped around the group happily. It was as if she was completely oblivious to the fact there was a great battle about to take place. Alice had given up in asking her to calm down as she either hadn't heard the princess or she was ignoring her, "Sometimes I can't believe you're older than me…" Alice muttered to herself.

Their walk was short before they had reached the ruins again. They stepped onto the teleporter and were sent underneath where they originally stood. Pascal led the way through the ruins towards where she believed the entrance was to Wallbridge. They had finally found the warp into the fortress when Richard turned around, "Pascal and Alice were absent when we devised our plan. Let me go over it so we're all sure on what we're doing."

Alice nodded then Richard went on with explaining the situation, "Wallbridge has two parts; a northern, and a southern and each side operates its own gate independently. What our main objective is to allow the army inside Wallbridge by lowering the Southern bridge and opening the gate to our forces." He made sure everyone was with him, "But we also need to cut of my uncle's forces by raising the North bridge and closing the gate. If we can operate both bridges simultaneously, then everything should go according to plan."

When it appeared everyone was still following the plan, he went on with his explanation, "The north bridge will come first and this is where it gets a little risky." He looked to his sister, "Alice is without a doubt the fastest of everyone here. That being said, Alice, you'll need to raise the North Bridge on your own. If you can sneak inside to activate the switch to raise the bridge, I can have you, Pascal, to close the gate. Is this okay with you two?"

"Y'okay! You can leave it to us!" Pascal exclaimed, draping an arm around Alice's shoulders, "We've got this, Princess Alice!" She was all smiles while the rest had their hearts threatening to pound out of their chests.

Richard nodded, "Once our uncle's forces have been sealed off from the fortress, we can lower the south bridge and open the gate so our forces can get inside to take Wallbridge." He turned to Pascal and Alice once again, "Now you two need to stay by the switches until you hear the south bridge being lowered. If you don't soldiers could go in a lower the north bridge again before we have a chance to attack. Guard those switches." The girls nodded, "Good, Pascal, if would please activate this warp so we may begin?"

Pascal dashed to the warp, "Alright, just a little chunk-a, chunk-a here and…." The warp turned on, "We're good to go!" Everyone stepped onto the panel and were warped into the fortress above them.

"This is Wallbridge, right?" Asbel asked, looking back to Richard and the others.

The prince confirmed Asbel's suspicions before looking to the door, "Yes, this is the fortress. We're most likely surrounded by my uncle's forces so we need to take caution and not wander off from the plan." Richard walked over to Alice and placed a hand on her head, "You're up, Alice. Be careful…" He turned to Pascal, "You keep watch of her until you get to the North Bridge." He warned her.

"Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy!" Pascal exclaimed before grabbing Alice by the hand and taking her out of the tower and into the open. The two girls snuck past the guards until they reached where they needed to part ways. That's when a few guards spotted them, "We can't split up now! We'll get beaten up!"

Alice glanced back to Pascal as they stood back-to-back, surrounded by four guards, "Then let's beat them up first, Pascal!" She replied before racing forward with her blade, slicing through one guard. He turned around and went to attack Alice but she managed to duck down before hand, landing on her hands. The princess shot herself back up into the air, landing on the second guard, blade going straight through the space between his armor plates.

Pascal sent a ball of fire magic at her two guards, severely charring their armor. Alice turned to finish off the last of the guards on her side, "Pascal, you're good here, right?" She asked. When Pascal nodded, Alice smiled, "Good luck!" Then ran off towards the tower where the switch should be.

She growled when she saw there was no switch in the area. Alice looked up to see a step ladder leading up to the next floor. The princess rushed up the steps to find the real switch. Alice figured Pascal had finished the guards and closed the gate so she pressed the switch and heard the gate rise up, "Perfect!" She exclaimed, quite pleased with herself.

Despite this minor victory, Alice's heart sank when she heard someone come into the tower below her. She saw a painfully familiar face as he caught sight of her. She shrunk back towards the switch as he climbed up the ladder, two guards staying below. As the man pulled himself onto Alice's level, his eyes went wide, "Princess Alice! I didn't expect you to be dragged into this as well…"

"I'm sorry but I can't allow you any further." She growled, pulling out her sword. He was a knight that was her former instructor; one of many.

Just as Alice took out her blade, the guard threw his sword into her hand, cutting it open and forcing her drop the sword. The princess yelped in pain as the he approached her, "I apologize for this princess, but my allegiance is to the current king." He stated as he picked her up and dropped her down to the other guards.

* * *

"Richard!" Pascal yelled as she ran to him and the rest of the group, "I…It's Alice… I think she's in trouble!" She said, out of breath, "I heard someone scream and it sounded like her. I saw some people leave the tower she had gone into…"

Asbel placed a hand on Richard's shoulder as the prince looked worried for his sister, "Don't worry, we can find her before we get that key." He turned to a confused Pascal, "We need a key to get into the tower. It's in the central tower near the North Bridge. Come on, let's find Alice."

"I don't think we need to look for Alice, Asbel…" Sophie muttered, pointing to a group of guards who had just approached, one holding a blade to Alice's neck. Alice looked to her brother with a sorry look; she felt as though she screwed everything up for her brother.

"Let her go!" Richard growled, taking out his blade, preparing himself for battle.

The guard pulled the blade closer to Alice's neck, "Oh no you don't," The guard began, "You don't want your sister to lose her head, do you? No, of course you don't…" He kept himself fixed on Richard, "Now, if you care about little Princess Alice, you'll come with me."

Richard put his blade back into the sheathe and put his head down, "You have my cooperation." He muttered under his breath, just loud enough to be heard. Everyone watched in confusion as the guards came to handcuff Richard, tossing Alice aside into a wall. As the guard grew near, Richard pulled his sword from its sheathe and brought the hilt into the guard's stomach, causing him to flop over and the prince swiftly took down the other two, "Never threaten my little sister…" He growled.

Alice pushed herself up using her uninjured hand and Richard approached her, "I'm sorry, Richard. I let myself get caught off guard. But they never lowered the gate. If we move quickly we should be able to lower the South Bridge in time!" Richard grabbed Alice's hand and asked her what happened, "This? It's just a cut; I'll be fine so don't worry."

The group raced off towards the central tower, now as a complete team. When they arrived at the tower, it turned out to be empty. Asbel spotted the key on the wall and as Richard went to grab it, someone yelled from above and jumped down, sword piercing Richard's body in the chest. Alice turned just in time to see it happen, "Richard!" She screamed.


	9. A Horrible Nightmare

Pascal held back the crying princess as tears poured down her face after witnessing the murder of her brother. The prince's killer stood triumphantly over the limp body, laughing, "I did it! I killed the prince!" He exclaimed as he ran for the door to get reinforcements. Asbel shouted for Sophie and Pascal to grab him as Asbel and Alice knelt down beside Richard's body.

"Richard..?" Asbel began, shaking his friend's body as he looked gravely up to Alice, wondering how she would react to his death.

Alice screamed, "No! Richard, please! You have to wake up, you can't be dead!" She grabbed onto his arm, "You just can't be gone!" Waterfalls poured down from her eyes as her tears hit the ground, creating small puddles by Richard's body. Suddenly, there was a strange pulse and Richard began to twitch. Asbel motioned for Alice to get back as they moved away from him.

Slowly, Richard got back up on his feet, throwing his head back as he smirked. Alice took a small step forward, "Richard…?" She said quietly.

The prince turned to look at the guard who stabbed him, his eyes glowing red as he lumbered towards him, You filth!" He growled. Pascal and Sophie jumped away as Richard grabbed the man, shaking him fiercely in the air. Suddenly, he threw the guard onto the large table in the center of the room. He landed with a loud thud as Richard climbed onto the table, standing over the man and reached for his blade, "How dare you… You disgusting bastard!"

Alice stepped forward as Richard slashed across the man's body. Pascal shielded Alice from the scene as the young girl hid behind her. Sophie turned her head away while Asbel protected her from witnessing the gruesome event as well. Although Alice couldn't see her brother, she heard his voice as Pascal kept a hand on her head, turning her away, "You'll pay for this! I'll make you feel that pain like no other!" She heard the slashes of his sword slicing the man all over.

"Richard!" Asbel yelled, "Stop it! That's enough!" He pleaded with his friend.

Richard continued on with slashing the man, "It… it will never be enough to pay for what he has done to me! How much pain I feel… I'll make him pay for all of it!" Alice flinched with every sound and shout she heard and she couldn't help but hug Pascal's neck to hide from it all.

"No," Asbel answered, "Stop it right now!"

Suddenly Richard's voice rose tenfold, "How dare you order me!" He yowled so loud that Alice jumped from hearing him shout like that.

Asbel still had a fierce look on him, "Look what you're doing to your sister, Richard. She's terrified of what you're doing…" His voice was growing calmer as Richard stopped attacking the man who was now long dead.

The prince had finally snapped out of his episode as he raised a hand to his head, "Wait… What's going on…? Asbel…" He looked at his old friend, "I didn't mean to say that…" He gripped at his chest as he yelled in pain; turning to his sister who still had her arms around Pascal, the older girl holding onto her as well for comfort.

"Are you alright!?" Asbel asked as Richard jumped down from the table, "Is it your chest?" He added.

Richard shook his head, "No… It's… No, I'm alright. We have the key now…" He straightened, "We need to get to the bridge now but…" He slowly turned to Alice again who hadn't let go of her friend, "Alice… Come here." He asked.

Alice let go of Pascal but didn't go to her brother. Instead, she stood there beside Pascal, only staring at her brother who moments ago, had gone insane. Richard's face looked saddened as he saw how Alice watched him, terrified of the one person that she had left to protect her. He held his hand out to her but she shook her head. Alice hated hurting her brother like this but there was something about him that kept her away from him.

"Are you sure we should keep going? What about that wound?" Asbel inquired as Richard took back his hand, looking down at the ground in frustration. He had damaged the strong bond he had with his sister. Richard now wondered if she could trust him after seeing that. He even saw her shaking from the fear he had placed in her.

Richard nodded, "Of course, he barely scratched me so there's nothing to worry about." He faced Asbel and the others.

Asbel couldn't believe it but when Pascal took a closer look at Richard she crossed her arms, "He's right! We all saw how deep that wound was but he actually looks perfectly fin! You should be dead, Richard!" The prince raised an eyebrow at the fact Pascal sounded disappointed almost.

_'But…'___Alice looked back to a pool of blood where Richard had been stabbed, _'His blood…'_ It didn't make sense to her but she ignored it for now as Richard put away his blade while he spoke, "That's enough Asbel… Let's go open the gate!" And with that, Richard had begun to walk off as the broken body lay still on the table.

Alice was staring off into space; oblivious to the party moving onward as she was lost in deep thought about her brother, _'He's fine now but… Just a few moments ago, he had gone mad.' _She thought to herself, _'Richard… What's happened to you? I can't bear to see you in so much pain… Rejection your hand just now… Was the most painful thing I've ever done-'_

A hand reached up and grabbed Alice's. The princess looked down to see Sophie holding onto her hand, "Alice? Are you okay?" She asked in her sweet, pure voice. Alice began walking off after Richard and the others as Sophie still held onto her hand, sensing that something was wrong as she hadn't stopped shaking.

As they walked towards the south tower, Richard, Pascal, and Asbel spoke with each other. Every so often Richard would steal a glance at his younger sister who refused to look up from her feet, following the others with Sophie as her guide. He began to wonder if what happened just now changed her permanently; he didn't want a sister that was afraid of him.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Sophie asked, looking up at her with caring eyes. Alice smiled at the other girl before shaking her head and telling her nothing was wrong. Sophie didn't seem to believe her, "Do you…? Still like Richard?" She added.

It took her a few moments to answer Sophie, "Of course I do, he's my brother after all." Alice replied, "I would never hate him; I love him more than anything. But right now… I just need some space from him, you can understand that, right Sophie?" The purple-haired girl nodded, sensing Alice needed some space and joined Asbel and the others.

They had reached the southern towers in no time at all and Richard went inside to activate the switch. Asbel and Alice remained outside while the others went to the other switch to open the gate, "Hey Asbel?" Alice began. Once she knew she had Asbel's attention, she continued, "Thank you… For staying by Richard's side, I mean. You're exactly what he needs right now to get him back up on his feet." She added.

Asbel smiled, "You know we've been friends for a long time," He replied, "I'll stick by him his entire life. I am- Er… Was a student of the Knight Academy. Everything I was taught was about serving the King."

Before she could say anything, Alice saw Richard come out of the tower to join them. The two siblings said nothing to each other as they began to move on, Pascal and Sophie joining them as well. The soldiers of Dalen's army came flooding through the gate as a war broke out underneath them as they walked. But only after a few small steps, a bladering went flying through the air by Richard and Asbel's heads. Asbel went stiff, "I know that blade…"

"And I thought I had taught you to never let your guard down until the battle is over." A familiar voice called out from above them. A large man jumped down in front of them as two guards ran up behind him, "It was quite the clever plan to come in a small team to lower the gates however…" He put a hand to his chin, "Your finale was weak and if I win now, it's all over for you. Isn't that right, your majesty?"

Alice looked up at the man as someone she had trusted and grown to admire over the years of having him as her former teacher, "Captain Malik…" She muttered, neglecting to prepare herself for battle.

Richard had already drawn his blade and Alice dreaded the fight more than any fight before. She didn't know how she would react if Richard gave the same kind of treatment to Malik that he had to the guard who stabbed him. The future king raised an eyebrow, "You would threaten us despite your knowing of who we are?" He began, "The Prince and Princess of Windor?" His sister looked down at the ground.

The Captain kept his eyes fixed on the princess for a moment as Prince Richard spoke. When he had finished, he looked up to the young man, "As a knight I side with the current King; Cedric. It's my job to stop you here, your majesty." Alice noticed that despite swearing loyalties to the tyrant Cedric, he still referred to her and Richard as 'your majesty'.

Now Asbel stepped forward, "I've dedicated my blade to Prince Richard and Princess Alice; I will do everything in my power to aid them against all who oppose." He then added more quietly, "Even you, Captain Malik."

"Then it has been decided…" The older man sighed, "Give me no mercy for you shall receive none in return!" He yelled, throwing his bladering through the air at Alice. She still hadn't drawn her blade but Asbel had stretched his own out in front of her, sending the bladering bouncing back to Malik.

Asbel looked over his shoulder at Alice as he slashed out at one of the guards, "Get it together, Alice!" He yelled at her. She quickly snapped out of her daze and drew her blade, countering the other guard's attack as he lunged for her. Pascal slammed the bottom of her staff onto the ground and conjured a line of fire straight into the first guard that was attacking Asbel. She didn't defeat him, yet severely weakened the man.

Sophie gave Alice a hand with the second guard while Richard fought it out with Captain Malik. The man threw Richard back towards the guard that his sister was weakening and the two switched targets. Alice ran at Captain Malik but sheathed her sword as she didn't want to hurt him too badly. Instead, she easily dodged his attacks and with every chance she got, hit him with the hilt of her sword but she had made a small mistake.

When Alice went for another hit, Malik side stepped the attack and as she turned around, Alice found that Malik had turned the blade to her neck. She let out a small gasping noise in surprise as she had almost run into the sharp weapon. Alice froze in her place and Malik looked down at her, "This is your end, Princess. I wish you well…"

But just then, Alice managed to spot Malik's own mistake. As he went to finish Alice off, he brought his arm back to ensure she would be killed painlessly and quickly so she was not to suffer. Desperate to hold on to life, Alice drew out her sword and the two blades clashed in a flurry of sparks. She let out a shout as the shear strength behind Malik's blow sent a sharp pain from her wrists up to her shoulder.

The two stood unmoving as they pushed against the other with their blades. Malik seemed fairly impressed by the girl's ability to match his strength as she pushed against him, "I won't die here!" She cried out. Meanwhile, Richard and the others were being distracted by reinforcement guards who had reached them in time to allow Malik to focus only on the Princess.

As Malik's strength was beginning to become too much for Alice, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, her blade clanked against the ground with a loud bang and everyone froze as they heard her scream. Even the guards stopped at hearing the girl yell like that and it sent shivers down their spines.

Malik's blade had slipped from Alice's when she collapsed, slicing through her right arm. She sat in immense pain, blood dripping down her already blood-drenched arm and into a growing pool on the ground. She was breathing heavily as Malik kept a blade pointed to her forehead, "I'm sorry that it must end like this Princess…" He muttered. But just as he went to finish her off, Sophie tackled him from the side, his bladering falling over the edge of the fortress.

As Sophie got away from Captain Malik, she went to Alice's side where Pascal was inspecting the young girl's horrible wound. Malik hit the ground on one knee, out of breath, "She's gotten strong…" He whispered under his breath.

Two men of Duke Dalen's army then came running up the where they stood, "Your highness, Duke Dalen wishes to inform you that we have finally successfully taken over the fortress from King Cedric!" One exclaimed.

The bladering-wielder rose to his feet despite the pain he felt in his old bones, "I can see that my resistance would be futile in this situation. Richard stepped forward with a grim look on his face; it showed even in the way he held his blade.

"Knowing when you've been defeated is quite the honorable trait." The prince began as he took a step towards Malik.

Asbel attempted to stop his friend, "Captain Malik only thought he was doing the right thing! As being of the knight academy, he has to follow orders from the king!" He protested, trying to protect his old instructor, "Once this whole thing is over, he could be a useful asset to your kingdom."

Richard turned to Asbel, slowly going back to what he was in the central tower. Pascal felt Alice's muscles tighten as she had been holding onto the girl's arm above her wound, "I decide who I shall allow in my kingdom!" The prince yelled, "And a man who would hurt my sister like this is not someone I want to be living under my rule!" But at that exact moment, Richard collapsed, "What's happening to me!" He cried out, "This isn't…. this isn't me!"

The prince's friend went down on one knee beside Richard, "Richard! Are you okay?" He asked frantically, being reminded slightly of the first time this had happened.

"N-No, it'll be alright, I'm fine." Richard stood along with Asbel, "Please forgive me, I had felt unwell for a moment." He put his blade back into its sheathe. He then addressed the soldiers who had come up to inform Richard of their success, "I'll decide what the fate of these three will be at another time but for the time being, lock them in the fortress." He bent down beside Alice, "Come on, little sister, let's get you some help with that." He put out his hand to help her.

Alice looked over the edge of the fortress as she stood, "A relief organization seems to have arrived, you go see Duke Dalen, Richard. I'll get help from someone down there, okay?" She saw the worry in her brother's eyes, "Don't worry, it'll be fine." Richard hesitated then nodded, leaving to go see Duke Dalen.

Sophie and Pascal stood by Alice to make sure she was going to be okay with a wound as bad as that. Malik looked down at the ground with his arms crossed, "It seems I won't be dying today…I'm glad to be allowed to live for another day at least." He looked over at Asbel, "You've become a strong man, Asbel. And even though you never finished your training, you would've become a wonderful knight." He praised as he turned his back to him, "Serve this country and the Prince and Princess well, Asbel."

Asbel put an arm across his chest, "Thank you, sir." He nodded, "I wouldn't have been able to accomplish such a feat without your instruction." And with that, Captain Malik walked away. Asbel and Pascal began to talk after Alice assured them she would be okay. Sophie had looked over the edge of the fortress, watching the relief organization heal both enemies and allies.

"Cheria…" Sophia pointed out as she looked over the edge. Asbel and the others turned to look at her and wandered over to the edge, "See? It's Cheria down there." She repeated, pointing to a pink haired girl as she knelt beside an injured man.


	10. A Lovely Sight

They had finally reached the bottom of the fortress after wandering for about ten minutes. In the center of the area was Cheria, bent over a different person as she healed his wounds from the battle. He was of Cedric's army so Alice approached uneasily, "Why do you heal those who are our enemies?" She questioned.

Cheria stood to look at Alice however, she didn't recognize the young girl, "Enemy or not they still deserve their lives for fighting. They are ordered what to do so it is not their fault that they get injured." She answered. Then she saw Asbel and the others, "Asbel! Sophie!" She rushed to them, hugging Sophie tightly. Suddenly, the pink-haired girl jumped back, "Sophie!" She began, "You smell terrible! Have you had a single bath since you left Lhant!?"

The girl shook her head and Cheria seemed absolutely disgusted, "Asbel! You should be making sure that she gets bathed daily!" She crossed her arms, "You're supposed to be taking care of her, remember?"

"I am taking care of her!" Asbel protested, raising an arm to the back of his head, "But she's a girl so it's not like I can do everything, right?" Pascal began dancing between her feet as she approached Cheria with a smile.

"C'mon," Pascal smiled, "It's not like skipping some baths is gonna kill ya!"

Cheria seemed infuriated now, "Yes it will! I'm scrubbing you both down when I get a chance to!"

"Y'okay!" Pascal said, raising a hand in the air, Sophie mimicking her.

"Don't mimic her, Sophie!" Cheria scolded as the two hung their heads in disappointment. She looked back at Asbel, "Who is this girl anyway, Asbel?" She asked, looking at Pascal. Asbel introduced her and Cheria smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Pascal. But you really should be bathing regularly…" She added quietly.

Alice came up from behind Cheria and stood beside her, "Wow, Cheria," She began, "It looks like you've gotten over your illness! Congratulations!" The princess exclaimed happily, "You still look exactly the same!" She smiled.

The older girl stood there for a moment, staring at the girl, "I'm sorry," She started, "But I'm afraid I haven't the slightest clue as to who you are…" She apologized quietly. Asbel prompted her to keep trying to figure it out and Cheria starred at Alice for a good long time. It suddenly came to her, "Princess Alice!" She exclaimed, hugging the girl lightly, "It's so good to see you!"

"Not used to seeing me without Richard?" Alice asked as she hugged Cheria back before they let go, "Last time we met I was always right by his side. Not that it's all that different now," She added, "We're just separated for the time being. He's here though."

Cheria smiled, "I can't believe it's you…" She muttered, "You don't look any different from the last time I saw you! You're right though, without Richard I didn't recognize you… How are you doing these days being the Princess and all?"

"Oh I've been better, trust me." The princess answered, holding her arm out to show Cheria the wound on her hand and on her arm, "I've definitely been better." She laughed, "It's actually my first time being cut and let me tell you it hurts as much as it looks."

The girl went to looking over her wounds carefully, making sure they hadn't been infected, "Princess! You need to be more careful! What happened to you?" Alice then explained the two battles in which she was injured then looked up at her, "Well, I'm going to need to clean them first…" She went into her kit and pulled out bandages and some rubbing alcohol, "My magic only causes the wounds to heal faster and not leave scars. I'm sure being the Princess; you would appreciate that the most."

Alice nodded, "Yes, thank you." She answered, gritting her teeth as Cheria rubbed the alcohol onto her wounds. Cheria apologized as she held her hands over the wound, a glowing light enveloping the wounds. The pain was now gone as she wrapped them up in bandages, "Ah, that feels much better now, Cheria."

Cheria stepped away, "Of course, now please Princess," She sighed, "Be more careful? Being part of this relief organization is hard enough already."

"We should probably go find Richard and see how he's doing," Asbel began, "He'll want to see to it that you're okay now, right?" Alice remained silent for a moment then looked up, nodding to Asbel. He walked closely to Alice, trying to comfort her by letting her know he was there for her if things turned bad.

* * *

As they came up to the central tower, Alice took a deep breath before entering. She felt her heart bounding against her chest, hearing the sound of her brother's voice as she climbed up the stairs towards the top of Wallbridge. Asbel figured she must've been nervous as she constantly entwined her fingers together, cracking them every so often as her eyes darted around the area.

When they finally reached the top of the tower, they found Duke Dalen speaking with Richard as he overlooked the land before him. Duke Dalen was bent down on one knee as he spoke and Cheria's eyes went wide, "That's Prince Richard…?" She wondered, glancing down at Alice who nodded silently, not quite focusing on Cheria at all.

At hearing Cheria's voice, Richard turned to look at the group, "Ah good, Asbel; you're hear." He glanced to Alice, "And you've brought my sister with you." Richard held out his hand, "Alice, come over here." He requested sternly. Alice immediately noticed Richard's eyes were narrowed and when she hesitated, it seemed like he was glaring at her, "Now."

"Coming…" Alice muttered miserably as she walked across the space with Asbel and over to Richard. She stood behind him, looking at her feet with an emotionless expression. Cheria exchanged glances with Pascal quickly as the pink-haired had missed his previous incidents. The other girl whispered that she'd explain later then they fell silent.

Richard focused on Asbel, "We've come a long way, Asbel." He began, "When Barona falls to my forces, this war will be over and Barona will learn what the meaning of true justice is!" Suddenly, he saw Cheria, "Huh…? Who are you?"

Cheria bent down before Richard after approaching him, "I'm Cheria Barnes," She answered, "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" She inquired, looking up with a smile, "I'm here with the relief organization to heal the wounded."

The prince seemed surprised as if he hadn't recognized her at first, "Cheria! Fear not, old friend," He began, motioning for her to stand, "Once I become King, I'll be sure to make saving Lhant top priority." Richard gave a small smile to Cheria and Alice noticed him slowly softening again, "Your skills are most welcomed and needed here as I have many wounded soldiers at hand." He then glanced down at the tower holding the prisoners, "As allies are our main concerns, you shall ignore the prisoners."

"W-What?" Cheria began, "With all due respect, your majesty but may I please inquire as to why you wish for me to leave prisoners untreated?" She had always been stubborn and to even hold ground against her king was impressive.

"Those who pledge their allegiance to my uncle have betrayed me and my sister…" Richard began, "And are no better than petty beasts. Even those of their numbers who are wounded deserve no kindness."

Alice wanted to say something about Richard's coldness towards the wounded from the opposing force but she couldn't force her voice to come out. No matter how hard she tried, Alice couldn't find her voice again and gripped at her throat softly. She feared the stress of the entire situation drove her into losing her voice. Luckily for her, Asbel spoke what she was thinking, "But Richard, they're still citizens of Windor."

Richard turned to Asbel, "As I've said before, I choose those who are allowed to live in my kingdoms and traitors are not among those people. I'm having the traitors executed! They must know that disloyalty will not be tolerated." He glanced back to Alice with a much calmer look, "They nearly killed me and my sister…" He ran a hand through his hair, "These crimes are most unforgiveable and death is the only thing those criminals are worthy of."

Immediately, Alice's hands flew up to her brother's sleeve, "Richard no!" She exclaimed, suddenly finding her voice, "Please, you can't kill them! Reconsider this, brother! You have to!" Alice seemed passionate about the lives of the men captured as Malik was among those people.

Asbel nodded, "Yes Richard, you must look back on your decision!"

Alice's brother's head immediately turned from Alice to Asbel, "Do you really think that, Asbel?" He growled. Slowly, his sister stepped away from him, sensing that he was losing sight of himself again, "Tell me, is this what you truly believe?"

"They're not fighting you out of hatred!" Asbel yelled, "Only a true coward would attack his own people out of fear!"

Richard seemed to be becoming more enraged at his old friend, "You dare to order me of the proper mannerisms of a king!?" Asbel protested, saying he was only trying to help, "Enough of this!" Richard drew his blade pointing it at Asbel, "I will hear no more! Just because I've shown you kindness doesn't mean you can forget your place!" He roared. Alice immediately jumped between Asbel and Richard's blade, "Alice, step aside."

"No!" She shouted, "I won't let you do this, Richard!" Suddenly, Richard hit Alice aside with his forearm forcefully and she fell back, collapsing to her knees by the tower's half-wall, "Ow!" She yelled, looking up at her brother with a hurt expression.

As he made eye contact with Alice, Richard's hand flew to his forehead, shouting in pain as he fell to his knees. Duke Dalen rushed to his aid immediately, asking if he was okay. Richard shouted again and two guards rushed to Dalen as he beckoned, "Take His Royal Majesty inside and find a doctor right away!" He ordered.

The two guards immediately escorted Richard down the steps, walking right past Alice on their way down. Duke Dalen remained on the tower and turned to Asbel, "Asbel Lhant," He began, "You are temporarily suspended from duty." The boy looked down, understanding the reasoning, "Your actions will be taken into consideration for the proper punishment for you. I shall escort you to an area where you may rest."

* * *

The group had been moved to a barracks room in the southwest tower of Wallbridge on the second floor. Alice had followed them as well against the wishes of both her brother and Duke Dalen as she wanted to distance herself from her brother for the time being. She now sat on one of the beds across from Pascal, staring at her knees with her hands between them.

Alice hadn't said a word to anyone since she told Dalen she was going to stay with Asbel for the moment. Her eyes were empty of any emotion and her hair fell over her face in a messy fashion as she thought about the previous events. Pascal was bothered by the girl's depressed mood and looked to Asbel who was watching her as well.

After a few moments of silence Sophie spoke up, "Asbel… Are you and Richard in a fight?" She asked innocently. The question even caused Alice to look up, interested in whether or not Asbel considered this a fight, "But you're friends; friends aren't supposed to fight with each other."

"Yeah…" Asbel answered, "I suppose we're still friends. I just can't tell what's going through his head right now." He added, ignoring the question regarding fighting, "I know, I'm worried about him too. Richard never used to get angry like this before; he was always so kind. Even in the seven years we never saw each other, I heard stories of his kindness."

Just then, Duke Dalen came into the room, "His Majesty has recovered." He began as Asbel approached him, "The decision for the fate of those taken as prisoners has been postponed for later. As of now, they shall stay under our custody here in Wallbridge. However," Duke Dalen added, "The prince has requested you keep distance from him. You are free to fight for our cause but will not receive the benefits you have previously received."

"I understand…" Asbel answered quietly as Dalen walked to the door and Pascal stood up from her seat on the bed.

Dalen stopped at the doorway, "And Princess Alice," He added as an afterthought, "His majesty requests your presence outside by the gate at once. You are also to distance yourself from this group as of now." He opened the door and walked out, "You have twenty minutes to get downstairs." And with that, he was gone.

"Wow, what a crazy day!" Pascal exclaimed as Dalen left. But just as one left, another entered and this time, it was Cheria, "Hey! So I guess you're done zapping away all those wounded, right?" She wondered. Cheria nodded, "So Asbel, what are we gonna do now?" Pascal asked.

Cheria immediately jumped to her own question, "Will you come back home to Lhant?"

"You and I both know I have no place there now…" Asbel answered, looking away from his friend, "And why even bother negotiating with Hubert; he's much better fit to rule than I am." Cheria quickly denied his claims, "So… how are things in Lhant right now?"

As the two spoke, Alice rose to her feet and straightened out her clothing before crossing over the room to the door. Just as her hand wrapped around the doorknob, she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder and turn the girl around, "Hey, Alice…" Asbel began, "Are you alright?" She nodded without saying anything then went for the door again only to have Asbel grab both her shoulders, "Honestly Alice, you can't keep yourself pent up like this, if you're not okay, you can say something."

"I…" Alice stuttered, "I don't want to lose my brother!" She exclaimed, hugging Asbel as if she was a small child, "He's unreachable and I don't know why he's doing this; why he's getting some furious all of a sudden… I'm terrified of him now." Tears soaked into Asbel's coat as she cried.

He wrapped his arms gently around the young girl and bent his head down, "It'll be okay, Alice." Asbel consoled her, "But what Richard needs the most right now is for you to be there by his side. When he comes back to his senses, make sure he's not alone and stay by him no matter what."

Eventually, Alice pulled herself away from Asbel, "Thank you…" She smiled then turned to Pascal and the others, "Everyone, I hope we'll get to see each other again sometime." Alice then turned around a left the room to join her brother.

Duke Dalen had been waiting down the hall for the princess then escorted her down the towers to the ground level where Richard stood before a large army, "Alice, there you are." He acknowledged the girl's appearance before addressing the soldiers. Alice didn't say a word to Richard but could see Asbel and everyone else at the way back speaking with a soldier.

As Richard led the forces north out of Wallbridge, Alice followed closely beside her brother and left Asbel behind at the recently captured fortress. As she became lost in her thoughts, she felt her brother's hand on her own hand. Alice looked up at her brother who had a much softer expression on now.

Without even realizing it, Alice gripped her brother's hand tightly, resting her head on his arm as they walked. She wished he could be like this at all times rather than switch between two sides of himself. Richard bit his lip as Alice's grip crushed his hand but he allowed her to hang onto him for the time being.


	11. Infiltration!

It hadn't been long at all since the royal siblings had separated themselves from the others that they found themselves wandering through the Barona Catacombs. Alice and Richard had taken the path underneath the castle so they could infiltrate with a small team. It was the same type of tactic used to get inside Wallbridge and sine it worked the first time; they decided to use it again.

They were just entering the open area where Richard had been attacked so many years ago by that creature; Alice remembered it like it was yesterday. She stuck close to Richard who hadn't had an incident since Wallbridge as they quickly passed through and came to a sealed door. Richard approached and leaned against the door, "Alice, lend me hand with this door, would you?" He requested.

The two pushed against the door and slowly, it budged then quickly gave way. Alice brushed her hands on her clothing to get rid of the dirt and they found themselves inside the Barona Castle's basement. Now feeling more comfortable with their surroundings, the two raced up the stairs, easily navigating through their former basement.

As they came closer to the first floor; about three floors underneath, Richard held his arm across Alice, "Wait, listen." She remained quiet and heard exactly what Richard had stopped her for. The sound of footsteps pounded down the stairs and eventually, the group of soldiers came racing downstairs to meet Richard and Alice.

Richard drew his blade and pushed Alice behind him as the guards drew their own weapons. Despite Richard ready to protect Alice, she prepared herself while soldiers surrounded the two siblings, "You are under arrest! Drop your weapons now or face your end!" They ordered.

Immediately, Richard lunged forward and stabbed through one soldier's chest, thus starting the battle. Two came running at Alice with their blades drawn and the girl quickly ducked down, causing them to impale each other, "Sorry!" She exclaimed as she slashed across a third soldier.

Two now remained and each went straight for Richard who deflected the first soldier's blow then jumped back to avoid the second blow. He then stabbed the first guard while the second was off balance then finished him off as well. Putting his blade back into his sheathe as well as Alice, he approached his sister, "Are you okay?"

Alice nodded then turned to the path they came from to see their old friends, "Asbel!" She exclaimed, "You came!"

"We were ambushed," Richard informed, "It's likely we were rash to come alone but we couldn't come with a large group or else it would be harder to sneak inside." He looked down to Alice, "Luckily we managed to survive but now without minor bruises."

Asbel looked at the two worriedly, "It's dangerous in here, you two. You should go back and let us take care of things from here." He proposed.

Richard shook his head, "No, taking care of our Uncle is something we must do personally." He answered, "Our uncle has taken so much from us and put us through as much as he has; I'm not about to sit aside while someone else usurps him."

Stubborn as always, Asbel pressed forward with Richard, "Well, if I can't persuade you from leaving then please allow us to accompany you so you have a clear path to your uncle." Asbel requested hopefully.

"Very well…" Richard answered with a sigh. He knew it was a wasted effort to try and talk Asbel out of it and instead gave into his old friend's stubborn attitude. And with those last couple of words, the group banded once again and walked up the stairs as a team.

Not long after joining together, they found the entrance to the Castle itself. But before climbing the stairs, Richard stumbled forward, holding his chest, "No! Not again… Please don't come out…" He growled in a pleading tone. Alice immediately ran forward and bent down by her older brother, "Alice… Please, I'm fine."

"Richard, are you okay…?" Alice asked shakily as Richard collapsed to his knees, "It's the poison, isn't it Richard?" She added. Her brother grabbed her wrists and held them away from his arms, trying to convince her he was fine.

Just then, Richard began to ramble, "Yes… That poison our uncle gave to father…" He growled, "Then he did the same to me... And you, Alice." He growled, "I will make them pay! He will curse the moment he attempted to take our lives."

His sister starred at him for a few moments before she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, "Richard…" She muttered quietly as Asbel watched with immense sadness in his eyes, "I love you…" Alice finished, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the warmth of her brother as he hugged her just as tightly and returned her words.

A few moments and Alice released her brother who helped her up to her feet, "We've wasted enough time here; we need to keep moving." Richard turned to move as Alice grabbed his hand and stayed by her side.

"Well," Pascal began, looking up at Asbel while then moved, "It seems she's warmed up to Richard again." She seemed to be happy about the fact and had a certain skip to her step as she followed the others.

Asbel nodded, "It's a relief, too…" He began, "If you had seen them when we were children you never would've guessed one day she would be scared of him…" He muttered quietly so that the siblings didn't hear him, "Hopefully this peace will last, though."

* * *

The group spent nearly half an hour of endless fighting through the halls of Barona Castle; taking down soldier after soldier of Cedric's army until they finally came closer to the throne room. But not too far from the target area, they came across a major obstacle; a tall woman wielding a spear. She wasn't an ordinary soldier as she was dressed in academy attire, "Major Victoria!" Asbel exclaimed, stopping in his tracks, "What are you doing here?"

"I'll have you know I'm not here on academy orders," She began, "I'm here to stop your progression to the King."

Richard drew his blade along with Asbel and Alice, "So you're Cedric's guard…" He growled, holding his blade pointed down beside him.

Victoria grinned, "Gold star for you, young prince." She chuckled at her sarcasm, "But I'm afraid this is where you all turn back." Asbel immediately protested and Victoria adjusted her glances and held her spear in front of her, "Very well, I see that your end is now!" She instantly lunged forward, cutting a path straight past Asbel with lightning speed to Alice.

Not seeing Victoria until she was directly in front of her, Alice jumped back just in time and sucked her stomach in to avoid being pierced by the spear. As she focused on avoiding the blow, she neglected to keep balance and fell backwards. Lucky for her, Pascal had a spell ready to go and slammed Victoria with a strong fire attack.

Alice flipped forward onto her hand and then back onto her feet as she slashed at Victoria with a wide horizontal attack. Barely hitting her mark, Victoria grinned and quietly praised the girl in her head before racing past her and after Richard who deflected the attack flawlessly to kick her away in the range of Sophie uppercut punch.

When Vitoria realized she'd be in trouble if she didn't go all out, she jumped into the air and threw her spear down in to the ground between Alice and Richard who were near each other. As Victoria descended from the air, she grabbed onto the spear, spinning around it with her legs stretched out, kicking Alice and Richard square in their ribs.

Richard was the first to hit the wall and caught his sister and she went flying towards him. She quickly thanked her brother before running back into the fight. Asbel readied himself as Victoria came running towards him and just as she went to pierce him, Asbel sidestepped and slammed the hilt of his sword into Victoria's back.

Pascal casted a second spell, this time causing a pillar of water to open up in the ground underneath Victoria and send her flying up into the air. As she slammed into the ceiling, Victoria whipped her spear as Pascal, managing to slice the girl's leg as she dodged out of the way, "OUchies!" Pascal exclaimed, examining the wound while Richard retrieved the spear and pointed it at Victoria's neck when she hit the ground.

To everyone else, she looked like she was the victim of check mate. But to Victoria, she had just one last opening that she couldn't afford to mess up. Skillfully, she wrapped her ankles around Richard's left ankle and managed to cause him to fall down. Victoria retrieved her spear from Richard's grip and flipped away from the group, "Hm, impressive."

Ready to finally end the fight, Victoria held her spear with her extended right arm as she raced to attack Alice and Sophie. Alice had been asking Pascal if she was okay and had her back turned to Victoria when Sophie pushed her out of the way, "Look out!" She yelled. Victoria's attack only ripped a small opening on her clothes back didn't break skin.

For the entire fight, Cheria had remained at the back of the hall, away from the fight. She continuously casted healing artes on Pascal and anyone else who had been injured or fatigued during the fight and managed to stay away from Victoria. But just as Victoria cornered Asbel and went to stab him, Cheria casted Lightning Blast and electrocuted Victoria before she could deal the final blow.

The skilled instructor collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed by Cheria's attack and Asbel remained pinned to the wall, breathing heavily. Alice sheathed her blade and approached Asbel, "Are you alright?" She asked worriedly, grabbing his wrist gently.

Asbel snapped out of the daze and pushed himself off the wall, "Yeah, I'm okay." He assured the young girl before looking at Cheria, "Thanks, Cheria." He began, "If you hadn't' attack her, I would've been killed."

Cheria's hands seemed to be shaking as she nodded, "Be more careful, Asbel. You can't let yourself be caught off guard." She scolded, letting her body relax a little more as they began to make their way towards the throne room once again.


	12. Usurption to Coronation

Alice began to feel her heart fill with dread as they came to the throne room. She feared how her brother would face her uncle; even though he poisoned her, she didn't want any more people to die. Silently, Alice hoped that Richard would be able to contain himself and not go too far with Cedric like he had at Wallbridge with the soldier.

"This is the entrance to the throne room," Richard began, "Cedric is just ahead. He's quite skilled with his sword despite being such a coward as to poison his family. We mustn't take this fight easily; it'll likely be our toughest encounter."

Asbel nodded, "Let's finish this as quickly as possible." He proposed. Richard reached down for his sister's hand and the two walked halfway up the stairs then turned to see Asbel still standing at the bottom, staring at his feet.

"Asbel?" Richard began, walking down a few steps towards his friend, "Is everything alright?" He seemed worried about Asbel who rarely did such a thing as to be distracted.

The auburn-haired bow shook his head, "Sorry, it's nothing." He answered, "I just… Wanted you to know that I'm prepared to do anything for you and Alice." He informed softly afterwards, continuing up the stairs towards Alice and the others with Richard.

"Thank you…" Richard replied as they came up to the door. He took a deep breath and looked down at Alice, "Are you ready?" He asked, knowing that his sister was stressed about the entire situation. After all, she was still very young and had already been put through so much. When Alice nodded back to Richard without raising her head from the door, he pushed the door open to see Cedric standing before the throne.

Cedric was a blonde haired man dressed in silver adornments over aqua colored clothing. He definitely bore resemblance to Richard and Alice but not so much that one would put them together as family. The older man seemed enraged at the sight, "Richard!" He growled, "The nerve you have to show your face here before me! And bringing your sister as well, how horrid." He added, looking down at Alice who stood beside Richard quietly not reacting to Cedric's harsh words at all.

Richard drew his blade as Cedric pointed his out in front of himself, "It's all over, dear Uncle." He replied, "Give it up, the throne is as good as mine and you know it! My forces surround the entire capital, you have nowhere to run.

"Listen to you, Richard," Cedric chuckled, "Acting all high and mighty because you have toy soldiers placed around the castle…" The man licked his lips, "How stupid could you be? Does the throne mean so much to you that you endanger the lives of your companions, your sister, and even an entire city?"

Completely ignoring Cedric's tormenting words; Richard prepared himself and nudged Alice for her to draw her blade as well, "We've come to avenge our father who you murdered!" He growled, "I won't let you go unpunished."

Cedric stepped down from the throne's platform with a terrifying grin on his face, causing Alice to take a step back in an involuntary movement. Richard took a glance down at her and subtly took a step in front of her, "I am the rightful King of Windor and I'm not about to let you prove me otherwise!" Cedric shouted as he lunged forward with his blade at Richard.

The two clashed blades while Alice jumped back before she could get hurt by Cedric's slashes. He slammed his blade against Richard's again and again, trying to get his nephew to break form and give him an opening. Before Cedric had the chance to hurt Richard, "Sophie came around and went to punch Cedric but the man jumped from Richard and held his blade out to deflect Sophie's punch and she ricocheted away.

As Sophie bounced off the ground and back onto her feet, Pascal got ready to cast a spell while Asbel jumped forward, attempting to slash Cedric's hip. He managed a small wound but nothing too damaging and Cedric countered only to meet Asbel's blade in a flurry of sparks. Pascal's spell was now ready to cast but Asbel would be caught in the attack if she casted, "Asbel, get out of there!" She shouted.

He looked back momentarily to see Pascal waving for him to jump back and in one quick movement, he tilted his blade so Cedric's slid of as Asbel jumped back from him. Just as he got out of range, Pascal let her spell slam Cedric with a weak ice spell followed up by a beam from her shotstaff. Cheria added to the attack by casting Lightning Blast then Alice added to it by cutting through the kicked up dust to tackle Cedric away.

Cedric's feet grinded against the ground before he stopped and looked up with murderous intent at Richard and Alice. The man lashed out at his niece, aiming to pierce her stomach but she quickly cartwheeled around Cedric to avoid damage. Richard casted a strong spell called Sword Deluge which surrounded Cedric with phantasmal swords followed by one that pierced his body.

The uncle roared in anger and went for Richard but just as he went to slash, Sophie jumped in and guarded, causing Cedric to hit her gauntlets instead. While she had his attention, she raised her right leg to kick him square in the gut and sent him into the air.

Pascal did her best to whittle away at Cedric's life by shooting him occasionally with her weapon while casting a weak spell here and there. She knew that small spells were much faster than more powerful ones and she couldn't leave herself open for too long. Asbel jumped into the air and slashed at Cedric's back, causing him to plummet into the ground.

Cedric managed to land on his feet but the force of his impact sent shocks up his legs. He looked around for the closest target and found Alice with her sword prepared to guard. The man figured his niece didn't want to truly hurt him so he took advantage of that fact and ran at her. Alice deflected Cedric's attack but before she could react, her uncle grabbed hold of her wrist and twisted it roughly.

"Let go!" Alice cried out, flipping sideway to turn her arm the right way before her wrist had the chance to snap. Her brother looked over to see the scene and ran at Cedric, going for and downward slash but her brought his blade up with the other arm to deflect Richard. Again and again, the two clashed blades but when Cedric saw Asbel coming to help out, he focused on Alice and brought his leg up, kicking her in the hip harshly and she went skidded across the floor, stopping only once she slammed into the wall.

Richard looked back at Alice, "No!" He yelled, looking back at Cedric as Asbel clashed blades with him, "How dare you!" Richard raged, slashing down Cedric side as Asbel pushed him back. Pascal casted a stronger spell of fire called Bloodflame while Cheria threw a barrage of knives out at him. Sophie uppercut Cedric into the air and Richard followed suit, jumped up to meet his uncle and piercing the man's stomach.

His uncle shouted in pain as he dropped down to the ground, Richard landing in front of him. Now on his knees, Cedric coughed, holding his stomach as Pascal went to help Alice up to her feet, finding her balance after a few moments. The young girl approached her brother and Cedric carefully, wondering if the battle was truly over, "I'm… I'm so close! I can't lose now!" Cedric scolded himself in a raspy tone.

Alice noticed Richard's neutral expression as he took a step closer to his uncle, "They say that the throne chooses the true king to sit upon it," He began softly, speaking in a tone he usually used with Alice, "One cannot bargain for it or steal it from someone else." Richard bent down and placed a gentle hand on Cedric's shoulder who watched his nephew carefully, "I'm glad," His voice suddenly went dark, "You learned this before you died, dear uncle."

"Wait, no!" Alice screamed as Richard thrust his drawn blade into his own Uncle's chest, watching his eyes go wide in silent pain. As her brother stood, he let Cedric's limp body fall from his blade, Alice watching in absolute horror as she dropped to her knees, "No…" She cried, "This isn't happening."

Her brother grinned down at Cedric as he walked by the dead body, "And this is for our father!" Richard stabbed Cedric's body again, "And hurting my sister!" He roared, plunging the blade deeper into the body. Cheria and Pascal looked away while Alice couldn't rip her eyes away from the horrible nightmare in front of her.

Asbel looked from Cheria to Alice and took a step forward, "Richard, stop this! That's enough!" He yelled, "He's already dead." He added quietly.

Richard ripped his blade from Cedric and flicked the blood away before sheathing his sword, "I've done what I've come here for," Richard began, "My goal has been reached; to set my father's soul at rest." Everyone remain silent as Duke Dalen entered to congratulate Richard on accomplishing his goals, "Dalen, what is the status of the situation?" He asked.

"Our spies succeeded in opening the Barona gates to our troops and we manage to break into the city," He then added in a more pleased tone, "We've had no casualties in our invasion. Within the hour we shall eradicate the remaining few soldiers and take our victory."

Turning to the throne as he walked, Richard shook his head, "This isn't the end of this… It's only just the beginning of a much greater time for the kingdom of Windor." He looked back at Dalen with a genuine smile, "Right?"

Dalen nodded and bowed along with everyone else including Asbel and the others. However, Alice still didn't move, still in absolutely shock from everything that had just happened, "It's time for the people to know I have secured my throne; time for the coronation." He then dismissed everyone and as they left, Richard approached Alice, "Can you stand?" he held his hand out.

Alice gave her shaking hand to Richard as he pulled his sister up. When she was standing, he leaned forward and hugged her tightly, "You'll be reinstated as princess once again, Alice," He began, sounding happy, "I promise I won't let anyone ever hurt you again for the rest of your life." Richard pulled himself away, bringing his hands down Alice's arms to grab her hands gently, "Why don't you get ready for your reinstatement?"

It was early in the afternoon of the same day as the streets were crowded with thousands of people as two royal Turtlez carried the large platform that Richard and Alice stood on. Richard was dressed in red and white robes, his clothing underneath concealed. His sister Alice stood beside him in a beautiful red strapless dress that was hemmed along the skirt with black undertones. She wore black tights and snow white gloves that practically matched her skin tone. Her hair was done elegantly on the top of her head in a bun. Two flowers; a red rose, and a white rose, were weaved through her hair and made her look much older than she really was.

Richard was smiling out to the public while Alice's face was emotionless. Most people on the streets cheered with joy while others gossiped about how Alice looked extremely miserable on the platform standing next to her overjoyed brother. Richard looked down at Alice, "Smile, Alice." He urged through his own smile, "You looked stunning and so mature, a smile can make you gorgeous."

She looked up to Richard who now looked back out to his adoring public, waving occasionally. Alice's eyes darted across the crowds, searching desperately for Asbel and the others so she knew they were still there, "Don't worry," Richard whispered, "They're inside."

As they came to the castle, the guards let down the stairs for Richard and Alice. Richard took heavy steps while Alice's were softer and delicate as she looked around the inside of the building to find Asbel. She became saddened when she couldn't find her friend and instead focused on the ceremony as she followed her older brother down the aisle.

She eventually came to walk beside Richard, catching a glimpse of Pascal and Cheria as she walked by. Alice flashed a smile to her friends, unaware of whether or not they saw as the two siblings went up the steps to stand before the pope. Alice and Richard bent down onto one knee as the pope slowly placed the crown upon Richard's head.

The pope then turned to Alice and retrieved the tiara from a satin pillow and turned back to Alice. Normally, princesses weren't part of these types of gatherings but during his short rule, Cedric had removed Alice from her throne. The pope lowered the tiara onto her head and the two siblings stood up and faced the crowd, "Today I shall reclaim the throne of Windor! From this point forward, we shall enter an age of prosperity!"

Meanwhile in the crowd, Pascal and Cheria were bowing down along with the rest of the crowd, "Alice looks absolutely miserable!" Pascal whispered, "She could at least try to look happy…" She suggested.

"Well, in her defense," Cheria began in a hushed tone, "Richard hasn't exactly been acting himself. He's done some pretty horrible things to reach this moment. And to say that a reason he did this was for her sake, it must be killing her right now."

Asbel glanced to Cheria and Pascal for a quick moment before looking back up at the new King and Princess, "I hope he'll return to normal now that he's back on the throne…" He wondered aloud with high hopes. There was a sudden shout of Windor's motto before Richard sat on the throne with a wide smile. Alice took her seat on a small throne beside her brother's, looking over her kingdom with a terrified expression.

As people moved out of the throne room, Richard rested his cheek on his hand, "I'm going to invade Lhant."


	13. A Friend No More

"You wished to see me, your majesty?" Asbel began, going down on one knee before King Richard and his sister who remained standing away from her throne. Her eyes were puffy and red as if she had just been crying before Asbel entered the room. Alice seemed to be looking at Asbel with regret and sympathy.

Duke Dalen stepped forward, "His Majesty, King Richard has decided to rip all titles an status from those taken prisoner and will have them released out of the kindness of his heart." He announced abruptly.

Richard had his arms and legs crossed as he spoke, "Asbel, I called you here for a different reason though," Alice looked down at her feet as Richard continued, "As you know, the current situation in Lhant is quite unnerving. So I've come to a conclusion."

"I'm sure you've heard," Dalen began, "But Strahtan military are occupying the cryas mines of Lhant, cutting off our main supply. And if this continues any longer, the country will plummet into poverty and a state of weakness. His Majesty finds such thoughts extremely painful and has decided to take immediate action."

Now standing, Asbel raised an eyebrow and prompted Richard to elaborate on Duke Dalen's words, "I have made the decision to invade Lhant."

Asbel went straight, "What!?" He cried, "No, you can't do that! Think of all the innocent citizens that will be caught in between!" He protested, knowing he was treading on thin ice.

While Richard remained as silent as his younger sister, Duke Dalen spoke the King's orders, "We have sent many letters to Strahta requesting their withdrawal but we have received to answer or reactions. And on top of that, rumors have reached us regarding the people of Lhant wishing to break away and join Strahta." Duke Dalen seemed enraged, "This is nothing but high treason against His Majesty and the princess!"

As Duke Dalen trailed off, Richard picked up the argument, "I cannot have people of my kingdom expression treacherous acts. All of those who are of Strahta and support her ideals shall me ran out of my country!"

"Richard, you can't possibly be serious!" Asbel exclaimed.

Once again, Duke Dalen refused to allow Richard to speak for himself and his decisions, "His Majesty is entirely serious and has chosen you to lead our troops in the invasion."

Alice stepped towards her brother in absolute shock, speaking in sync with Asbel, "What!?" The young girl continued, "Richard, you can't truly expect Asbel to lead Windor troops into Lhant! It's his hometown, that's just cruel!"

"Mind your position!" Richard snapped at his sister, "It's a chance you to regain your homeland as well as your honor, Asbel." Richard added to him, "Your brother ran you out, correct? You should be thanking me for giving you such an opportunity.

Asbel couldn't except the goals laid out for him, "You're asking me to fight against my own people and my brother; you realize that right? I can't do that to the good people of Lhant! They don't wish a war upon their land!"

Instantly, Richard jumped from his throne, "You're on thin ice, Asbel Lhant. Tread carefully." He warned in a harsh tone. Both Asbel and Alice flinched form his cruel voice that neither of them had heard; even at Wallbridge, "This country belongs to me, now. And you dare to defy me as your king?" He titled his head, giving Asbel a condescending stare.

"Your majesty," Asbel muttered, "Please, allow me to attempt to negotiate terms with my younger brother so that I may reclaim Lhant in a peaceful and bloodless visit. I don't want innocent people to be killed."

The king raised an eyebrow, "Do you honestly think that just because you're related that there will be a different outcome? Shared blood produces hate just as often as it does love; just take my uncle for example. He poisoned my sister and I out of pure hatred for his family and to gain the power he strived for." He placed a hand on his hip, "It is no different from you brother; he drove you to this point and you loathe him for such actions."

Shaking his head, Asbel disagreed, "No, I will never stop trying to make amends with my brother." He went down on one knee, "Please, your majesty, allow me to try and speak with my brother to request that Strahta withdraws; just this one chance."

Richard fell back onto his throne and crossed his legs, "Have it your way," He sighed, "If you wish to be given this chance, I shall allow it. But time is short; you shall leave immediately for Lhant without any hesitation." Asbel bowed to Richard before leaving the throne room.

Dalen turned to Richard, "Are you sure it is wise to give him so much freedom, Your Majesty?" He inquired, "He might pledge allegiance to Strahta in the end. He's an ally we cannot lose."

Looking at Asbel as he finally left through the door, Richard grinned, "He's such a kind man… I always loved that about him." Suddenly his eyes narrowed, "I shall keep him close, and take very good care of him." He let out a dark laugh.

"Richard." Alice interrupted, approaching her brother, "This isn't you, brother. I don't' what happened to you but you've been coldhearted and cruel, I can't stand be near you when you treat Asbel as a stranger and me as your enemy." She looked off in the direction Asbel disappeared to, "He wants peace and you attack his hometown."

Her brother didn't look amused at all, "The throne is no place for soft hearts." He replied, "That's why I hope you change for if you ever reach the throne as queen, Windor will surely suffer. It may seem harsh but invading Lhant is a crucial part of Windor's success."

Alice took a step back, "You've lost sight of what's important to you, Richard." She growled, becoming angry with her brother, "You used to not care for yourself or power, but for others. We were so close, Richard and Asbel was the last person you would ever hurt!" She began to walk down the long carpet down the center of the room towards the door, "Talk to me when you find yourself again."

"Where do you think you're going?" Richard wondered.

She looked over her shoulder, "I'm going with Asbel; I won't let you hurt him. You've changed," Alice added, "You don't believe in Asbel negotiating abilities and will invade no matter what the outcome of his visit is. I'll be there to stop you. I refuse to stand idly by for any longer."

"Asbel!" Alice shouted as she saw him approach the boat's boarding dock, "Wait!" She ran towards him as he turned to see the young princess. Alice was now dressed in opaque white leggings with a black floral pattern near the bottom. Her hair was held up by various clips and pins with the red rose from the day before in still in her hair. The girl wore small black shorts and a green and white hunter's shirt that was sleeveless and exposed a half inch midriff.

As she stopped in front of him, Alice bent down out of the breath, "Your Highness," A familiar voice began, "You shouldn't be out here and so far away from the safety of your castle." Alice looked up to see her former instructor, Malik Caesar, "And lady like you shouldn't be dressed in such clothing as well."

Alice shook her head, "You know that I'm not as lady like as I appear." She replied then looked up at Asbel, "I want to come with you to Lhant. I need some space from my brother right now; I don't know what's gotten into him." Alice then looked at her feet, "Asbel… I'm sorry that things turned out this way. He told me about invading Lhant and I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen to me. And for him to make you lead is truly cruel."

He held up a hand, "It's not your fault, Your Highness." He replied, "I believe you tried to talk Richard out of his actions but we can't change his mind. He's unreachable right now and I won't push my luck with him."

Cheria leaned over the railing of the boat, "Asbel, the boat's leaving soon! Hurry up!" She yelled. Malik held his arm out for Alice to hook hers around then escorted her up onto the boat. He removed his arm once they reached the boat's floor and the ship began to set sail.

Suddenly, someone screeched Alice's name as she came onto the bow of the ship. Before she could do anything, Alice was tackled to the ground by an older girl. The princess shrieked, not able to identify her attacker and tried to wiggle out from underneath her. At last, the weight was lifted from her and Alice looked up to see Malik holding Pascal in the air by the back of her shirt, "Oh, Pascal, it's only you." She said as Malik pulled her back up while dropping Pascal, "I'm sorry, if I knew it was you I would've have reacted like that."

"Aw," Pascal bent over with her arms dangling, "The princess doesn't love me enough to know it's me by voice…" She pouted.

Alice raised an eyebrow, "I honestly can't tell if you're joking or completely serious." She let out a little laugh and seemed to be a better mood.

Malik couldn't believe it, "It's almost like her presence makes the princess in a much better mood," He observed, "She seems to have pushed her brother to the back of her mind." Malik looked down to where Asbel was moments ago to find him gone, "Asbel?"

"He went to the back of ship with Sophie, I think." Alice answered, pointing off in the direction she had gone it.


	14. Shared Blood Stirs Hatred

The boat pulled into the port to the east of Lhant and Malik offered his arm to Alice as he escorted the princess down the wooden board to land. Immediately two guards jumped up and raced to her aid, "Princess Alice, Your Majesty," One began, "We weren't told you would be paying a visit to Lhant! We shall prepare a Turtlez escort right away."

Alice raised a hand, "That's not necessary," She replied, "I have an escort as it is." She gestured to Malik and Asbel as he left the ship as well with Cheria, Sophie, and Sophie, "Thank you for your attentiveness and hospitality." She bowed to them quickly before looking back at the others, "We should hurry to Lhant."

They began making their path through the small port village and onto East Lhant Road that led to the town of Lhant. As Alice walked beside Asbel, he looked down to her, "Hey, Alice?" Asbel started. Alice glanced up to him, "I know everything that's been happening is hard on you but you have to promise me that you won't leave Richard's side."

"Asbel, what are you talking about?" She exclaimed, "I would never leave Richard! He's my own brother and no matter what he does I still love him more than anyone." Alice looked up at Asbel with full seriousness, "He has always been someone I've looked up to and when he gets a hold of himself, everything can go back to normal."

He sighed, seeming relieved that Alice felt that way, "That's good… I don't want him to ruin his relationship with you after so many years of being so close." Asbel looked down, "I'd like to say this is just the stress of becoming a king and trying to push back invading countries but… This seems like much more; he knows what he's doing and how it affects the people involved; he even yelled at you. I've never seen him do something like that."

She quickly glanced back at the others; the three girls trailed far behind while Malik remained closer behind Alice, acting as her guard. After a few moments, Alice sighed, "Asbel, you have to promise me something too." She added, "Promise me that you won't leave Richard either… That pact we made at the tree of Lhant Hill after Bryce tried to kill us… I still remember. I remember how much it meant to us and how strong our friendship was. Please never abandon Richard; you've always been his best friend. Even in those seven years we didn't see each other, Richard never forgot what your friendship meant to him."

Asbel seemed shocked at Alice's words and struggled to find the words to express how he felt, "I… I would never think about leaving Richard." He managed to say, "He's been my best friend and the good memories I have as a kid are not overshadowed by the bad of the present."

The conversation ended with both people satisfied and pledging their loyalty to their friend and king; Richard as Lhant came up in a near distance. Alice smiled at finally seeing the small town again; the last time being seven years ago when she was much younger. Back then it was like a fairy tale with small homes and humble people but now; it was a soon-to-be war zone. Lhant was something very precious to Alice and one of her fears was to have it perish because of her brother's foolish mistakes.

When they finally reached Lhant, Asbel bolted straight for his former home. Alice immediately ran after him, wanted to be there so she could hopefully hold weight in the situation and explain the situation as a close person to the King.

Throwing open the doors, Asbel entered the office that Hubert sat at the desk. Malik and the others entered closely behind and Alice stood by Asbel's side and presented herself to Hubert. He rose to his feet, "Quite unexpected; coming here even though you've been banished from this town." He looked down at the desk where an open calendar lay, "I don't see this on my schedule."

"We need to talk, Hubert," Asbel began, "I'm not here to tell you to withdraw without anything in return but I wish to negotiate." He gestured to Alice, "And I've brought Princess Alice here to show that I fully trust you not to take this chance to weaken His Majesty; King Richard."

Alice glanced at Asbel as he made up a reason for Alice's company then she stepped forward, "Lieutenant Oswell," She began, already aware of his position and surname, "If I may call you as such, I wish to ask you to withdraw so that we may end this without bloodshed and dispute. My brother plans to invade this area but we have been sent as an envoy to try and negotiate terms. I ask for you terms?"

Hubert seemed even more irritated about the fact Asbel had the princess with him, "So this is the princess seven years later?" He raised an eyebrow but then glared at her and Asbel, "I know exactly why you're here, Your Highness," He growled, "Intimidation purposes. You expect me to be oppressed by the fact the princess is here. Now Strahta can be attack on charges of endangering the royal family!" He pointed at Asbel accusingly.

"What!?" Asbel exclaimed, "Hubert, no I didn't bring her here because of that!" He then softened his tone, "Look, Strahta has cut off Windor's main supply of cryas. Will our supplies nearly cut in half, it won't be long before the citizens will be greatly affected."

The princess then continued Asbel's side of the argument, "Please, Hubert… The last thing I want is for my people to suffer. You have my word that if you withdraw, Strahta will have no war of conflict with Windor for the events taking place here in Lhant."

The blue-haired brother shook his head, "Honestly, the king of Windor can't possibly believe that the princess and my brother will force me to withdraw based on their position and relations to me, could he?"

"I've asked to come." Asbel defended Richard and himself quickly, "And the princess came on her own will as well. My previous reasoning was based on what she had told me."

Hubert chuckled, "Then how naïve could you possibly be, Asbel? You honestly haven't changed at all, have you?"

Suddenly a man threw the door open and bowed to Hubert, "Lieutenant Oswell!" He shouted, "Windor's army has appeared to the east! There are countless armed troops and Strahta forces have been pushed back to town already!" The man then looked at Alice and pointed a finger, "It's her! Without a doubt, she brought the troops with her!"

Alice stepped back, "What? No, I would never do that!" She looked down at her feet, "I knew he would do this, he doesn't trust Asbel enough to negotiate properly." Just then the princess ran out the room, pushing her way past the man and outside to see Lhant.

Back outside, Richard slowly approached the Lhant manor while Alice stood by the steps up to the front gardens. She had hardly noticed when Asbel and the others joined her to the sides of the walkway as Richard came up the stairs, "So Asbel, how did the negotiations go with your brother?" He had a smug grin on his face, "I suppose if you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself."

Alice watched as Richard passed her then she turned to look at him, "Richard, why are you doing this!?" She growled, "You haven't given the negotiations a chance!" She added, stepping towards her brother.

"I told you before at the castle I was going to attack Lhant," He answer then addressed Asbel, "I'm doing this for you, Asbel," He looked over his shoulder as he stopped in the center of the garden, "I promised to you that I'd help you reclaim your homeland, remember?"

Enraged, Asbel stepped forward, "This isn't what I meant, Richard! I never asked for any of this…" He looked down for a moment then focused on Richard again, "I don't want to reclaim it if I'm feared for it!"

A chuckle emitted from Richard and sent chills down Alice's spine, "Oh, I know. But I decided to do this anyway." He laughed, "The people of Lhant must learn that I have no tolerance for those who plan to defy me."

Alice glared at her brother and suddenly forgot her earlier conversation with Asbel on their way to Lhant, "That's all you care about now, Richard!" She shouted, even causing Asbel and Hubert to jump, "You keep pushing away your friends and your family all for the sake of making sure that no mercy is shown to those who defy your rule! You were never like this, Richard! And now you're losing the people closest to you and you can't even get past your thirst for power to see it slip away!"

"She's right," Asbel added, "Ever since Wallbridge you've been terrifyingly obsessed with power. And look what you're doing now! You've attacked Lhant; a town that used to mean something to you!" He seemed equally angry with the king as Alice was.

Titling his head, Richard placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, "I see how it is; to get to Lhant…" He trailed off, "I'll have to go through you and my own sister." Alice froze in her place, not wanting to believe what she heard, "Did you think you could go against me without facing consequences just because you're my sister?"

The princess was at a loss for words as Asbel ordered Cheria to go off and help the wounded and try to get the citizens to safety. "N-No, Richard please," She began, "I don't want to hurt you and I know that you would never try to hurt Asbel and I if you were in your right mind." She was desperate to hold onto her brother and keep him close to her.

"I can turn my blade on whoever I please regardless of relations." Richard sighed, "Tell me, Asbel what have I done wrong?" He wondered aloud, "I did exactly what you wanted; reclaimed Lhant for you. All for you and you can't appreciate such dedication to a close friend. Or at least someone I considered to be a close friend."

Asbel's hand hovered over the hilt of his sheathed blade, ready to counter any move the irritated king made, "When will you figure it out that you can't control people by violence and threats!" He yelled.

The king shrugged, "I've been betrayed by so many; my uncle, my dear friend, and even my sister who showered me with adoration. Now you see, Asbel," He chuckled, "I can control people through threats." He suddenly pointed his blade at Alice, "If you betray me and turn your blade on me, dear sister, I shall kill you without a second thought."

Everyone was in shock of Richard's horrifying threat on his sister; none of them could believe he would say such a thing. To know that Richard had done everything to reclaim the throne partially for Alice's sake then to threaten her life in the end was truly unreal to them all. Alice couldn't move and was paralyzed; she couldn't even speak to her brother and was conflicted. Helping her brother would mean she'd have to fight Asbel and everyone else she had become friends with while if she chose to fight for Asbel, it would mean hurting Richard.

"You have such a pretty face, Alice," Richard smirked, "Begging doesn't suit you. Such a desperate tone is much too harsh for such a delicate little girl." He raised the rapier to the center of Alice's face, "Choose your side, my dear… Dear sister."

After moments of seemingly endless silence, Alice came to her decision, "I choose… Asbel!" And just as Richard went to slash his younger sister, Malik jumped forward and grabbed her by the back of her shirt then pulled her away from the attack, "Richard…?" She couldn't believe that her brother actually went through with the threat.

Malik stood in front of the terrified princess, "Stay back, Your Majesty." He warned, "We won't force you to fight your brother as long as you stay back." The man reached back for his bladering and prepared himself for a battle.

"In the end…" Richard mumbled, "I have no one. Even you, Asbel!" He yelled, unsheathing his blade and pointing it up to the sky as a sickly green pillar began at the tip of his sword. As the light grew brighter and pointed his sword at Asbel, the beam shooting out towards him.

"Asbel, look out!" Alice screamed. Hubert immediately jumped in front of his brother, guarding Asbel with his dualblade. Malik covered Alice as the blast kicked dust up all around the area, making the result of Hubert's guarding unknown. As the dust settled, Hubert was bent down on one knee, exhausted from the blow; his blade landing in the ground two feet away from him. Asbel was still affected by the attack as he had moved from his original place and was crouched down as well.

The worried brother ran to Hubert, calling his name. Hubert found it hard to push himself back up after such a devastating blow, "There's no way that's the same Richard, he's so strong!" He growled between breaths. Richard charged another beamed and shot it towards the brothers; Asbel wrapping his arms around the winded Hubert and jumping out of the way.

Richard glared at Asbel and Alice who were now in close proximity to each other. His eyes focused on Alice with extreme hatred, "Now die!" He screamed, charging the sword again as he prepared for another blow.

"No Richard, stop!"


	15. Dreadful Changes

Just before Richard could release the attack on his sister and close friend, Sophie jumped out at him, her gauntlets clashing with Richard's sword, "Get away!" He yelled, swinging his sword so Sophie would be sent back from him.

The small girl flipped back onto her feet and starred at the evil that was now Richard, "Sophie, what are you doing here!?" He shouted. Sophie had gone with Cheria to heal the wounded and evacuate Lhant to a safer place.

"I'll protect you!" She yelled back to Asbel as she ran towards Richard, blocking every attack he made directed at Sophie. As she closed in on him, she flipped over him while managing to block each attack and landed in the fountain's top tier. Slowly, Sophie's gauntlets began to glow and bright purple and soon, her entire body was glowing.

"Asbel, it's the same light from before!" Alice exclaimed.

The boy's eyes went wide in horror, "No, this is what happened before she died…" He muttered, his entire body freezing as he held the injured Hubert in his arms, "Huh?" He looked down at Hubert who began to glow, particles raising from his body and floating over to Sophie.

Richard gritted his teeth, "How long do you plan to stand against me, you cretin!?" He roared as he thrust his sword forward with a green beam. Sophie quickly jumped out of the way and over Richard to the other fountain on the opposite side. The purple light grew intense and enveloped Sophie's entire body.

"I will fight you for as long as you still exist!" Sophie yelled back at him, "And I won't let you hurt my friends this time!" As Richard and Sophie raced towards each other, their head-on crash caused the purple light to surround both of them and in the end, Sophie was sent straight into the fountain. The water fountain crumbled on top of Sophie and Richard stood grinning.

"Not again… I won't let this happen again!" Asbel whispered to himself as he realized that history was repeating itself. Sophie was lying on the ground paralyzed while the threatening evil stepped forward. Asbel tightened his grip around the hilt of his blade as he readied himself to attack Richard. Alice drew her blade but remained in her place with a word.

Richard stood feet before Sophie and held his sword in front of him, "Die!" He screamed. Suddenly, Asbel ran forward and slashed at Richard with intentions of hitting him in order to protect Sophie. The others stood as well and joined Asbel's side as Richard retreated to the far side of the garden. "I don't believe this… You've finally betrayed me in full…" He whipped around as a red aura surrounded the man, "I will not… Forgive you!"

Surprisingly, Alice was the first to jump forward and attack her brother, "I won't let you do this, Richard!" She yowled as she brought her blade down on Richard. He immediately brought up his blade to deflect the attack and send his sister flying back and onto her feet.

Asbel ran after Richard and slashed out at him as the king jumped back then countered with his own attack that knocked Asbel back. Before Richard could attack Asbel again, Sophie jumped in front of him to block the blow then punch him in the stomach. He went staggering back and into Hubert's flurry of bullets, caught only on the arms and legs.

He growled and charged forward at Asbel, slashing across his stomach before kicking him back away from him. Richard ran underneath Hubert dualblade attacks and ran straight for his younger sister, picking her up by the collar of her shirt, "You won't betray me again…" He growled as she gripped at her brother's hand, trying to pry his fingers off.

As Richard brought his sword back to pierce his sister, Malik ran forward and threw his bladering into Richard's side. He immediately dropped Alice and glared at the former captain, "So the prisoner joined the band of traitors." He shot forward as Alice rubbed her collar bone and pushed herself back up to her feet shakily.

Hubert glanced over his shoulder to see a large amount of soldiers that were over powering te amount of innocent citizens, "Captain Malik," He began, "Go help Cheria with the citizens! They're getting overpowered!" He added.

Malik blocked the attack of Richard then send him flying away then turned to run and help Cheria and Pascal. With the captain gone, the battle would be a tough one without a doubt and Alice decided to jump back into the fight. Sophie punched Richard up into the air and Asbel soon followed and hit him down with the hilt of his sword.

Alice slammed her body into Richard's and he fell back into Hubert's barrage of slashes from his dualblade. She hated hurting her brother but she needed to protect those close to her and Richard had pushed her away. Just then, Richard darted forward and successfully slashed Asbel's chest then continued on to Hubert who he attacked with a beam of green light.

Turning to Alice, Richard pointed his sword and charged it again, prepared to kill the sister he once loved with all his heart, "It's a shame it had to end like this." She managed to jump back so the blast hit the space just in front of her. Despite getting a small distance away, she was thrown back and into the wall of Lhant Manor.

Richard followed her and growled with frustration that he couldn't finish off such a small and insignificant girl. She had dropped her sword back where Richard had first attacked her and now she was completely defenseless, "Face your demise with dignity." He commanded. Luckily, Asbel saved Alice by slashing out at Richard's back then kicked him in the side as hard as possible to get him away from his sister.

Sophie and Asbel attacked Richard as Alice slowly got back up to her feet and retrieved her sword by the broken fountain. Alice ran forward and slammed the side of her sword into Richard, sending him back and land harshly on his stomach. They all stood back for a few moments, staring at the pathetic king, "You….You've all…"

Alice slowly approached her injured brother and bent down in front of him, "Richard," She began, "Please stop fighting, we don't want to hurt you any longer… Don't make us attack you again, I hate seeing you like this!" She pleaded.

"Get back, Your Highness." Hubert warned, stepping forward and quickly pulling her back to a same distance beside Asbel and Sophie.

Suddenly, the red aura around Richard grew stronger and quickly enveloped him in the evil mass. Sophie's purple light returned to her body and the two collided and a strong gust of wind blew through the entire town of Lhant. Hubert and Asbel held onto Alice as her body slowly lifted from the ground; Hubert holding her with his arm around her neck and Asbel grabbing onto her arm.

As the light and red aura faded away, Richard was sent flying back into the stone fall. Immediately, Alice went to go to her brother's side, struggling against Hubert and Asbel, "Let me go, you two! He's hurt!" She yelled, trying to rip herself away, "Asbel, please…" She whimpered, "I don't want to see him like this, let me go!" She screamed.

Hubert hugged the girl's neck tightly as her struggling became more desperate as Duke Dalen came over and advised Richard to retreat for the time being. The angered Richard looked up from the ground to glare at the group as he slowly got up to his feet, "Don't think I'll let you get away…" He growled as he led his troops in the retreat back to Barona.

The two brothers dropped Alice and she collapsed onto her knees, slamming her fist on the ground, "Dammit!" She cried as the tears dripped from her face and landed on the stones below. The others dropped to the ground as well, out of breath and completely exhausted.

"Are you guys okay!?" Cheria exclaimed worriedly as she ran over to them and placed a hand on Sophie's shoulder, "Sophie, are you okay?"

The purple haired girl stood and brushed herself off, "Hey, Asbel…" She began as he moved closer to her while Hubert and Alice stood behind him, "I remember now; seven years ago when all of you were younger…" She glanced up at Hubert, "You were always so shy but you cared about everyone that you felt close to," Her eyes shifted to Cheria, "You were really sick but you still always smiled and cheered everyone up."

When Sophie looked at Alice, she felt nostalgic as she spoke, "Alice, you were always right by Richard's side and loved him more than anything." Sophie finally looked at Asbel, "And then Asbel… You were always there to protect me; you were strong and so kind. It's so good to see you again." She smiled while everyone else stared down at her; ashamed of themselves.

Just then a group of Strahtan soldiers led by the aide that informed Hubert of the attack approached, "Lieutenant, are you hurt?" The man asked, partially concerned while the other part of him was asking as a requirement of his job.

Hubert nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. How's the situation in the town?" He asked.

"Windor's forces have been led in a retreat by King Richard." The aide began, "We have soldiers guarding the East Lhant Road to make sure they're gone." He placed an arm across his chest, "We haven't given any orders to pursue-" He saw Alice, "The princess! She's still here!" The guards held their weapons in front of them.

Immediately, Hubert held out his arm, "Lay down your weapons, she is no foe." He growled, "Don't you dare show any hostility to Her Majesty; Princess Alice. Anyone who disobeys this order will be removed from service. On another note…" He calmed down, "Do not pursue Windor, our main objective right now is to make sure they're gone and tend to the citizens." The men bowed then ran off, Hubert following them closely behind.

"I can't protect anyone; I failed to save Lhant…" Asbel muttered to himself as he surveyed the damage around him.

Sophie shook her head, "No, Asbel." She protested, "You saved Hubert, you saved Alice!" She exclaimed happily, "And you saved me too! Just like you did seven years when you were a kid!" Asbel walked forward and placed a hand on Sophie's head, "Even though I don't remember a lot but I'm still happy I could remember that much." She looked down, "I don't know why, though but I'm scared too. I'm too afraid to try and remember much more than that."

Alice put her hand on Sophie's shoulder, "Don't worry, Sophie," She smiled, "You don't need to remember it all if you don't want to. Take your time, no one will rush you." Alice consoled as Malik and Pascal joined them as well.


	16. An Eavesdropper's Punishment

"How are you doing?" Cheria asked as she went up to the landing by the West gate out of Lhant. She and Alice had stayed back in the town while Asbel, Malik, Sophie, and Pascal went off to check out Fendel's borders. The older girl sat by Alice with her arms propping herself up.

Alice glanced over to Cheria for a moment then wrapped her arms around the bars, "Okay…" She muttered, "But there's something I don't understand…" She began, "When my uncle Cedric took the throne, he removed me from my position as princess immediately. But I still have my title as royalty; Richard has taken me off the throne yet."

The pink-haired healer thought for a moment, "I know it can be hard to believe now but there has to be a part of your brother that still cares about you." She began, "And keeping you as princess is showing the faith he puts in you to come back to him eventually. Come on," Cheria smiled, "Cheer up, please?"

The princess shook her head, "You weren't there but once our fight with Richard ended, he was hurt… Laying on the ground from injuries that we had caused. Hubert and Asbel; they held be back from him not matter how hard I fought to make sure he was okay. What hurts the most is that they were doing it to _protect_ me."

"Why's that so painful to you?"

"Because Richard's my brother," Alice answered, "I shouldn't have to be protected from him! I shouldn't be afraid to be around him or doubt him all time and I don't want to do this do him but he's not the same anymore…"

Cheria put a arm around Alice and brought her close, "Don't worry, Alice," She began, "It'll all get better. We'll make sure that you have your older brother back and we get our old friend again." She smiled, "You're so much prettier when you smile."

Slowly, a smile formed on Alice's lips just as Malik and Pascal returned from their trip to Fendel's borders. Cheria and Alice pushed themselves up and approached them, "Where's Asbel and Sophie?" Alice wondered.

"They went to go visit Lhant Hill on their way back here." He replied then placed his hands on Alice's shoulders, "I have something to give you, will you come with me, Your Highness?" He asked, walking past her then looked over his shoulder. Alice followed immediately and the two walked back to the manor together where the left fountain lay in shambles from Sophie being thrown into it. Malik finally stopped in the center and turned to Alice, "I found this back at Wallbridge." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful necklace.

Alice gasped, "Richard's necklace!" She exclaimed, stepping forward as Malik laid it down in her hand, "Captain Caesar, I don't know what to say; I'm very grateful… Words cannot express." She wrapped her arms around her former instructor, "This is very important to me."

He smiled, "I know," Malik looked ecstatic to see the girl genuinely smile for the first time in a while, "Do you remember when you were younger and I still instructed you in sword lessons?" The princess nodded, "Well, you came to me the day you got that necklace and wouldn't stop talking about it for hours!" He laughed.

"Captain Malik, sir…" She muttered as she let go of Malik, "Wait," Alice examined the chain, "This is a new chain…. Did you do this?" She asked.

Malik nodded, "Yes, I replaced it with a newer one because the first one had been cut when we fought at Wallbridge." He looked around to her concealed shoulder, "Speaking of which, how is your arm? I'm sorry I had to injure you like that, have you ever been hurt like that before?"

She shook her head, "No actually, it hurt a lot." Alice replied, "But it's okay now, really. Cheria healed it and made it much better. Thank you so much for giving it a new chain, will you help me put it on?" Alice handed the necklace over to Malik and turned around as the man slipped the chain around her neck and clasped it at the back, "Thank you."

"Come on, Your Highness," Malik began, "Let's help Cheria and Pascal with the wounded soldiers."

As the two came into the main area of Lhant, the scene was horrible; soldiers laying all over the area, injured and some even dying. Alice bent down by one severely injured man and asked for his arm that was bleeding badly. He immediately ripped his arm away, his face squinting in pain, "You're an enemy!" He yelled, "The princess of Windor; your loyalties lie with the King!"

"Please, sir," Alice began, "You have to trust me, I've fought the king on my own will and I mean no harm to you. I only want to help you now so please allow me to make amends to you for my older brother." The man relaxed and she grabbed his arm, pushing away the broken pieces of armor. She reached over to grab a roll of bandages that Cheria left around as well as a bowl of water with a cloth.

Alice soaked the cloth in the warm water then gently pressed it against the man's wound, dabbing away the dried blood and the blood that was still running. Holding the cloth against his skin until the last moment, she quickly wrapped it into a neat bandage, "Is that better?" The man nodded and Alice rose to her feet. She turned to see Asbel and Sophie standing at the entrance and smiled.

Asbel approached Cheria who was chatting with Bailey; a commander of Lhant's forces, regarding matters of bandages and more medicine, "Is there anything we can do to help?" He asked.

Bailey shook his head, "We require no help from people who abandoned us in our greatest time of need." He growled in a harsh tone, "If we need any help; Hubert shall prove himself more than useful to us."

"That was most likely about me choosing to leave and join the Knight Academy." Asbel muttered, "He's right to say what he did; I left for seven years and didn't contact anyone during that time. I left my duty of becoming the Lord of Lhant for my own selfish reasons." He sighed, "Maybe I should just leave for good."

"Asbel Lhant that is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard!" Alice exclaimed as she approached him with her hands on her hips, "Without you, this entire town would've been destroyed by my brother and you know it!" She seemed angry with Asbel, "How dare you think even for a second that you should leave Lhant; being banished didn't stop you so why should Bailey's words stop you now!?"

He was shocked by Alice's raise in tone and couldn't think of what to say to that, "She's right," Cheria began, "If you leave, it'll only make the people here resent you forever." She sighed, "Well, I suppose it'll only make sense if you go too… Hubert might be going; I overheard some soldiers saying that Strahta's not happy with Hubert and the way he's running things in Lhant. I'm pretty sure that they'll call him back to Strahta."

"Well what's Hubert going to do about it?" Asbel asked as he regained his voice after what Alice had said to him, "Does he even know about it?" Cheria shook her head. Asbel looked down at Sophie, "I need to go see Hubert. Alice watched as Asbel ran off towards Lhant Manor then soon afterwards, Cheria hightailed it after him.

Looking down at Sophie, Alice smiled, "How about you go help the soldiers? I'm going to go get something to eat; I'm starved." Once Sophie nodded in agreement, Alice ran off towards the bridge that led to the other side of the river but as she grew out of Sophie's sight, she crossed the river below the bridge using the stones that allowed her to cross without getting wet.

When Alice reached the house, she saw Cheria going inside then darted across, following her close behind. The pink-haired girl jumped when she saw Alice behind her, 'Oh, princess! You startled men; what are you doing here?"

"For the same reason you are;" She began, "I may be going with Asbel wherever he goes but where he goes I want it to have you too, Cheria." She smiled. Cheria returned the smile then leaned against the door. She heard footsteps and pushed Alice back further away from the door as Hubert walked out of the office and outside, "Guess Asbel's already gone…"

The two girls leaned against the door again and listened to the remaining voice inside; it belonged to the aide from earlier, the one named Raymond, "Damn that brat!" The voice growled, "I finally get my one chance to take over Lhant and he does this kind of cheap move! What was the idiot uncle of mine thinking when he adopted such an ungrateful brat!?" The voice paused for a moment, "I'm the one who is here as an Oswell, that letter will not reach Strahta…"

"Alice, we have to go warn Asbel about this!" Cheria exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"Hey you! What are you two doing!?" A Strahtan soldier yelled from behind them. Alice glanced around then heard Raymond's voice as the door swung open, "Were you two listening at the door!?" Raymond yelled.

Quickly, Cheria whispered for Alice to run and the girl darted from Cheria and straight passed the soldier and Raymond. "After her, you idiot!" Raymond shouted at the soldier as he simply stood there, "Gather another soldier and make sure she doesn't get away."

Once she was outside, Alice ran across the bridge and looked both ways, wondering where Asbel could be. That's when she looked across the river and saw him talking with Pascal. She looked back over the bridge and saw Strahtan soldiers crossing it as they closed I on her. Alice turned to run but felt a hand close around her wrist.

Alice swung her arm around and punched the man square in the head but was grabbed again by her elbow from another soldier. She twisted her arm away only to be restrained by both soldiers while a third approached slowly. She struggled against them desperately and went to call out Asbel's name only to have the third soldier press his hand across her mouth. He held onto her mouth as he walked behind her then suddenly, a sharp pain hit her neck and the world went black.


	17. To Be a Queen

"Alice, please princess, wake up!" Cheria pleaded as she shook the young girl with her foot. Alice had been knocked unconscious from the earlier confrontation and she hadn't showed any signs of waking up. The soldiers knew of Alice's fiery personality so that tied her arms and legs tightly so she wouldn't get away, "I need to get out so I can tell Asbel…." She growled, fidgeting with the binds on her wrists, "Come on…" Suddenly the ropes came undone and she rubbed her wrists.

Cheria got up and went to untie Alice's binds but the ropes held to tightly and it hurt her fingers to try and pry them apart. She rushed to the door and wiggled the handle to find it locked. She resulted to banging on the door, "Let me out! Someone help me!" Suddenly there was a low growl and Cheria backed away from the door.

The door opened and a man pulled Cheria from the cabin and pushed her towards to large monsters. The Strahtan soldier wet inside and retrieved Alice, tossing her to the door as well, "Eat up, pets. Today you get two easy meals." The two enormous boars edged closer to the panicking Cheria as she stood in front of the unconscious princess.

"Cheria!" Asbel shouted as he ran towards her with his blade unsheathed and the others behind him. Malik threw his bladering at the first boar while Pascal casted a fire spell on the second as Asbel slashed it. Sophie attacked with Malik by giving the boat a flurry of kicks and punches that eventually knocked it back and killed it.

The second fell just as easily and the soldiers retreated off towards Lhant. Malik immediately ran to Alice and cut the binds on her with his bladering and pulled the ropes away, "Your Highness, come on, wake up!" Slowly, her head raised and fell back onto the ground. Malik slipped his arm underneath her neck a helped her sit up, "Are you alright?"

Alice nodded, "I'm fine, my neck just hurts a little, and that's all." The captain stood up and offered his hand to princess to pull her up.

With a deep sigh, Pascal placed her hands on her hips, "Man, was that close!" She exclaimed, "You okay there, you two?" She asked as Alice walked back towards the others with Captain Malik. Alice took her place next to him and turned to look at Cheria.

"We're okay, thank you so much for saving us." Cheria answered in a depressed voice then looked to Asbel as he walked passed her, "Thank you, Asbel…"

Suddenly, the older boy whipped around and made Cheria jump, "How could you do something so stupid!" He yelled, "You too, Alice!" He added, unafraid to scold the princess as he maintained a strong relationship with her, "If we took any longer, you both would've been killed! DO you understand that? You even put Alice's life in danger!"

"It's not like a _wanted_ to be kidnapped, Asbel!" Cheria growled, "And she came on her own free will! It's not you know what even happened to just stop yelling at me!" Alice stepped forward to say something in Cheria's defense after taking in Asbel's scolding but Malik pulled her back, shaking his head.

Pascal jumped forward, "Whoa now, kiddies play nice! Everything's alright now so there's no need to get angry at each other!" She waved her hands back and forth, trying to vanquish the minor dispute over the recent events.

The two quarreling friends whipped round, "No it isn't!" They shouted simultaneously. Asbel then looked back at Cheria as Pascal backed away, "Do you have any idea how worried I was when I found out you and Alice had been captured!?"

"Did I just hear you right?" Cheria was taken aback, "You were worried!? This happened because I was trying to save you, Asbel!" She yelled, "So don't try to make me feel guilty for making you worry when this was all for you in the first place!"

Asbel sighed, "You've been completely different ever since I came back; I've been treated like crap by you! You're just not the same anymore." He looked down at his feet as did Cheria.

"That's your own fault!" She replied, "You left for seven years; not a single letter from you, no visits, nothing! You just left and vanished right after that incident in Barona!" She began crying, "This is all your fault, Asbel! You walked out of my life and I didn't know if I would ever see you again! I missed you so much but a part of me kept telling me that you would come back home." She began to wipe tears from her eyes, "I wanted to come see you at the academy but I figured you wouldn't want me there so I stayed here in Lhant."

Slowly, Asbel lowered his head and his whole body relaxed, "I'm sorry… But I didn't think I could come back unless I was a knight. I felt like I would be a failure if I came back before then so I didn't and instead kept training."

Pascal between her feet, "Aw, look at them; they're so close! I'm actually kinda jealous of them!" She exclaimed happily. Alice and Malik both agreed with a nod as smiles formed on their lips.

"Will you just shut up?!" Cheria yelled, "Asbel's nothing but a jerk and I don't even care about him anymore!" She glared up at her old friend then turned around as she saw the sadness and hurt in Asbel's eyes. Suddenly, he burst into a laugh, "What's so funny!?" Cheria growled as she whipped around again.

"That's how I remember you, Cheria." Asbel smiled down to Cheria who was not at all amused with his kidding around.

Cheria jumped out at Asbel, "And what do you mean by that, Asbel!?" She raged. Pascal stepped forward and advised Cheria to simply calm down.

"He only means for you to relax a little, Cheria that's all!" He intervened. Alice laughed a little then smiled to the two; she was happy that they finally said what needed to be said. The young princess always knew that Cheria resented Asbel for leaving while also noticing that Cheria had changed a lot. It was really brought to light when Sophie pointed out all the differences from when they were younger in everyone except for Asbel who had always remained the same.

Asbel seemed happy again, "It's good to see you're back to normal now, Cheria," He said, "I thought I had lost my friend for a while there. And I'm really glad you're both safe and not hurt… At least I don't think you are, right?" Alice nodded and Cheria turned away, hiding a small blush.

Sophie approached them with Pascal and looked up at Asbel, "You two aren't fighting anymore… Right?" She asked worriedly. Alice quietly wondered if what Sophie was feeling was like how Alice felt about losing her brother; Cheria and Asbel were all Sophie really had and if they were fighting then that must be devastating to Sophie.

"Our fight?" Asbel repeated then looked to Cheria, "We're okay now, I think, right Cheria?" He confirmed as the other girl nodded with a smile to Sophie. She seemed back to normal again and Alice felt she could finally relax knowing that the two had made amends.

The purple-haired girl seemed thrilled, "So we're all friends again?" The two nodded to her with smiles and Sophie grabbed their hands and pulled them together, "Than you two need to make a friendship pact!" She exclaimed. The two tightened their grip on each other's hand with big smiles as they finally made a pact.

"Isn't young love just amazing!?" Pascal shrieked out of happiness as she jumped between her feet and shaking Alice's shoulder with enthusiasm. The princess wasn't typically one to delve into people's love lives as she typically didn't take interest in such things but this was a truly heartwarming story to her, "That'll be you and your prince someday, Alice!" She exclaimed.

"W-What?" Alice exclaimed, flustered at Pascal's insinuation, "Oh no, I don't think I'll be getting married." She replied as her face flush an extreme shade of red. Alice honestly didn't see herself ever being a married woman and if she ever got married, it would be when she was much older or to someone she was absolutely sure of.

Cheria shook her head, "Don't say things like that!" She scolded, "If you're Queen someday, who will be your King?" She exclaimed. Suddenly, Alice's entire body relaxed and she looked down at the ground, "Oh, Alice… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it lie that-"

"No…" Alice answered, looking over her shoulder, "I know you didn't mean to say it like that, that's just how it sounded. Don't worry, Cheria, it isn't a big deal." She began walking, "We should probably head back to Lhant to tell Hubert how things turned out."

As the others followed, Sophie looked up at Asbel, "How come she got so sad when Cheria said she could be Queen one day?" She asked, slightly confused, "I mean, isn't being Queen a good thing? Captain Malik told me that a King or Queen rules over all of the country."

Asbel sighed, "The only way that Alice could become Queen is if… Well, suppose Richard doesn't get married or have kids before he dies; that means Alice would be Queen. She can only be Queen if Richard's dead with no one to carry on for him. That's why she got sad;" He concluded, "Alice doesn't want to be Queen because of that one reason."

"Asbel… Is Richard going to die?" She asked suddenly.

"No!" Alice shouted as she turned around, "He won't die, Sophie! He just can't! Richard's just going through a hard time, that's all! Once he can finally relax, Richard will return to normal, I just know it!"

Malik slowly approached the flustered princess and put his hands on her shoulder, "Calm down, Your Highness," He consoled, "It was just a question you can't blame Sophie for just asking. It's a good thing you still believe in your brother but when the time comes-"

"Captain, I think the rest of that lesson can wait, right?" Cheria asked, cutting the man off as fast as possible before he finished his dreadful sentence, "Alice, you're brother's a good man deep down and I'm sure the Richard we all know if still there." She just then saw the necklace hanging from Alice's neck, "When did you get that?" She asked.

"This?" Alice asked, holding it up, the necklace was made of pure silver in the shape of a cross. On each end of the cross was a precious gem; on the left there was a ruby, the top had an emerald, while the right was adorned with a sapphire. "This was my brother's necklace. He gave it to me when we were really young and I've worn it every day since then. The Captain found it for me after I lost it at Wallbridge."

"It's good to have something to remember the days," Pascal began, talking over her shoulder, "You know, remember how things were before all of this, don't you think so?" She stopped for a moment before continuing on towards Lhant with everyone else while Alice stood there.

She glanced down at the pendant for a moment with a smile, remembering the days that she spent with Richard in Barona. They always had the best times when they would race through the streets, throwing proper manners to the wind as they enjoyed life. Her brother always wanted her to remember to have fun every once in a while and to never forgot the better things in life than living up to people's expectations. Everyone would say how amazing the two siblings were with each other; they never fought, never yelled, didn't do anything that they would grow to regret later in their life.

"Yeah…" The girl muttered before turning to catch up with the others.


	18. An Uneasy Conscious

"My sincerest apologies, Your Highness," Hubert began as he bowed to Alice with the most respect her could muster, "I should've held more control over my subordinates. I hope that this apology is sufficient enough to meet your high standards?"

Alice sighed, "Please, Hubert you don't need to apologize like that… Honestly, you're older than me and it's just weird for you to treat me like that, I don't want to be treated like royalty; you too, Captain Malik." She placed her hands up on her hips.

The blue-haired lieutenant sighed, "I'm sorry, Princess," He replied quickly before turning to Cheria, "I hope you're alright, I apologize if he did anything to hurt you, Cheria." Hubert added to her. He showed that he still cared about his old friend; either that or he didn't want any blood on his hands from something a subordinate did.

"It's all over now and there's no harm done so it's okay now." Cheria walked over to the bed that Raymond was laying on. They had come back to Lhant manor and into the same bedroom Richard and Alice had used when they visited Lhant seven years ago. Cheria held her hands out over Raymond, "What a horrible wound!" She exclaimed.

Hubert looked down at his feet with a saddened expression, "When he realized that his plan had been ruined, he stabbed himself and inflicted that wound. Luckily he missed his vital organs and arteries but it still did a lot of damage. How incredibly foolish of him…"

Cheria's hands began to glow, "Don't worry, Raymond, I'll help you with that wound." The warm light surrounded his body as the magic set to work on the injury, "You should be fine now. Just don't try to get up; you need your rest."

"I tried… I tried to hurt you." Raymond began, "Why are you helping me like this? I'm not deserving of this kind of treatment." He protested, not sure why Cheria would do something for a man who nearly got her and the princess of Windor killed.

The girl shook her head, "How about we agree to forget all of that, right Princess?" She looked over to Alice.

She smiled, "Right," Alice nodded, "We all do things when we're desperate that we later regret. You're only human, Raymond." She added. Raymond thanked the both of them, "Just make sure you think things through before you do crazy stuff like that. You'll make your cousin worry again." She glanced over to Hubert with a playful smile.

"Excuse me, but how did you know we were cousins?" Hubert wondered, "I don't remember ever disclosing those details to you!"

Alice grinned, "As princess I have access to things like this!" She answered happily, "I know all kinds of things like adoptions, deaths, births, medical issues, stuff like that." Alice added, naming off the subjects as she counted on her fingers.

Hubert growled, "I demand you tell me everything you know about me from those records!" He yelled.

"You sure got comfortable with speaking to me quickly." Alice commented jokingly, "Honestly, that's all I know, you were adopted to Strahta and it's not like they're open to share information about their high ranked officers." She shrugged but Hubert didn't believe her one bit.

With a sigh, Asbel stepped forward, "Come on, you guys, we need to start heading off to Strahta before it's too late and deliver the letter to the president." She looked to his friend, "Are you coming with us, Cheria?" She nodded then Asbel turned to the princess, "How about you, Alice?"

When Alice nodded, Hubert shook his head, "I don't think Strahta will take lightly to the princess of Windor coming onto their territory. How about you stay behind with me, princess?" He suggested as he pushed his glasses back into position.

"You're funny, Hubert," Alice replied, "But there's no way in hell you'd get me to stay behind. I'm coming Strahta; besides they wouldn't dare attack the princess lest they want to attract more of my brother's attention, right?"

Hubert sighed, "Very well, then…" He grumbled, "Here, Asbel. I want you to take this. I meant to give it to you a while ago but certain events delayed me." He dropped a small sack into his brother's open hand, "It's nothing really; just an old good luck charm." Hubert quickly changed subjects, "Now if you plan on leaving any time soon, you should get going."

Asbel nodded, "Right, thanks Hubert. Good bye…" He added as they turned and walked out of the room. He led the way out of the manor and over the bridge where Alice had been captured earlier the same day. She was extremely exhausted but figured that once they made it to Strahta she would be able to rest at an inn.

As the group proceeded down West Lhant Road, Alice took a look around her surroundings; the area around Lhant was always so beautiful. In Barona, there were hardly any trees outside of the castle's courtyard so when she was surrounded by them like this, she felt so small. Wild flowers sprouted up from the ground in random arrangements which made the whole road seem virtually untouched by humans.

"Hey, Asbel?" Sophie began as they stopped to rest at the clearing where the cabin was that Cheria and Alice had been taken to, "Could I look at the charm Hubert gave you?" She asked politely as Alice walked past them a few feet to sit on grass at the side.

Pascal marveled at how great it was to receive a charm from Hubert as the princess removed the rose from her hair. It had begun to wither and Alice stared at it with immense sadness; the rose had been picked from a bush in the castle's courtyard that her father had planted there for her because of her fondness of the flower.

Alice frowned and climbed a tree part way where she slipped the rose between two small twigs. Afterwards, she pulled out the pins and clips from her hair and stuffed them into a small pack she had hanging from her belt, "When Asbel was training at the academy, he would always talk about Hubert." She heard Captain Malik say as Sophie inspected the charm.

Now with her hair out of its style, the princess's hair extended down to the back of her knees. The length wasn't impressive as Sophie's but the beautiful golden hair was like a reflector in the direct sunlight. She approached the others as they continued to examine the good-luck charm closely, "Come on Captain, please don't bring that up."

"I think it's cute," Alice laughed, "I remember when we were younger and fell over the cliff at Lhant Hill," She began, "You were always so proud of Hubert and how smart he was; you told Richard and me not to tell anyone. Oh… Whoops." She smiled half-heartily.

Cheria seemed intrigued by the Captain and Alice's knowledge of Asbel's pride in his younger brother, "Well, when Hubert was adopted, Asbel was constantly worried about how he was doing and if he would be okay without him." Now he had Alice and Sophie's attention as well as Pascal's, "He always let his imagination go wild with ideas like if Hubert was being bullied, or if he was happy with his new home. Asbel got worried the most when he thought about how quiet Hubert was and that people would take that as a weakness." Malik looked up at Asbel, "Didn't you send him a letter, Asbel?"

"Yeah, but he never answered." Asbel replied, "I just hope he knew I was thinking of him and never stopped worrying about him when I was younger."

Sophie handed the charm back to Asbel, "If Hubert gave this to you then I'm sure it'll protect you sometime soon." She assured the older boy, "How much farther down the road is the port to Strahta?" She asked.

The princess looked down the path, "It probably isn't much further," She began, "I bet about fifteen more minutes and we should at least be able to see it, right?" She turned to Asbel who knew the area much better than she did. He nodded and the group then continued making their way down the road towards their destination.

As they came across the small port town, Alice saw Strahtan soldiers all over the place and panicked for a moment before realizing they were still in Windor territory. They slowly approached the guarded boat; Alice's entire body was tense as she stole glances at each soldier, "What is the princess doing here?" One growled, pointing at her.

"Excuse me but I am still on Windor territory." She replied, "So if you ask me, you're in no position to be questioning my presence when you're in my country." Alice finally made a point to speak for herself rather than use others to cover for her, "Strahta has no rule over Lhant thus I have authority over soldiers from another country. Now if you don't mind sharing, when does this ship depart for Strahta? She added in a more carefree tone.

Malik smiled as they witnessed Alice's first showing of assertion and the soldier stuttered before telling them that the ship would leave in fifteen minutes. The captain looked down at the small girl as she turned away from the soldier, "I have to say, I'm quite impressed, Your Highness." As he pat Alice's head a few times.

She flinched away from Malik's hand before he could tap her head a third time and smiled, "Thanks, Captain but please, just all me by my name? I'm so sick of all these titles…" She muttered towards the ground.

"Very well, if that's what you want, Your Highness." He answered with a teasing grin, "I hear that the ride to Strahta is a long one so we could get some food before the ship leaves port. If we have fifteen minutes, we should just pick something up at a Turtlez shop."

Cheria nodded, "Alright, I'll go buy some food for us; what do we all want?" She reached into her pocket and retrieved a small pouch of Gald, "I've got enough for each of us to get a meal." Everyone gave their order to Cheria who made a mental note to remember them. She brought Sophie with her to the Turtlez to help remember and bring back the dishes.

Asbel glanced over as Cheria and Sophie came over with the food as they only had three more minutes left to get on the ship. They ran towards them, Alice paying the soldiers for their boat fares before running up the board to the bow of the ship.

Once they got settled at a couple of tables at the front of the ship, Cheria and Sophie gave the food the each person that ordered them. Alice had asked for Cheria to get something that she would recommend and had a delicious looking dish put in front of her, "This smells amazing, Cheria! What is it?" She asked as she stabbed a piece of what looked like chicken with her fork and ate it.

"What do you mean what is it?" Cheria wondered, "It's just a normal Chicken and Tofu ramen bowl…" She replied, "Don't tell me you've never had that! I thought it would be a dish they'd serve at the castle."

Alice shook her head as she continued to eat, talking between bites, "I've never even heard of a dish like this." She twisted the noodles around her fork, trying to eat in the neatest way she could but still manage to have the broth slip from the corner of her mouth. Alice retrieved a napkin and dabbed the broth from her face, "It's delicious though."

Glancing over to Captain Malik's plate, she caught sight of a medium rare steak sitting on his plate. He looked up to see her staring and cut off a piece for her then gestured to it, "DO you want to try the steak?" He asked.

"Thank you." She smiled; reaching over with her fork then put it in her mouth. It was such a wonderful taste and for some reason; it was much better than any food she had in the castle, "You know," She began as she finished chewing, "We may have fancy food in Barona but I don't think I've ever had something as delicious as this food."

Everyone quickly finished their food and as it got later, Cheria and Sophie excused themselves to take baths and go to sleep. The sky appeared to be bleeding as the sun began to set below the sea and Pascal pushed herself from the table. Pascal leaned against the railing as she admired the sunset as the boat continued on through a seemingly endless ocean.

Malik and Asbel joined the girl at the rail, "Alice," Asbel began, turning around to the girl who had stayed seated, "I think you should probably get some rest now…" He trailed as he noticed the girl had fallen asleep with her head resting on the table beside her empty bowl, "Captain Malik, she fell asleep." He pointed out as he gently picked her up.

He turned around and approached Asbel, "Huh, I guess she did!" He exclaimed under his breath, "Why don't you carry her to the girls' room. Pascal," He glanced over his shoulder, "Can you go with him so Cheria doesn't accuse him of trying anything?" He laughed. As the two disappeared from the ship's bow, Malik was left by himself, leaning over the rail with his own thoughts.

It was the middle of the night as Alice woke up in her bed. The motion of the boat shifting back and forth made her feel a little nauseous lying down like that so she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She glanced across the room to see the other three girls fast asleep in their beds as she got up and quietly left the room.

As she came up to the bow of the ship she realized no one else was awake but a few soldiers standing around for night guard. Alice walked over to the railing where she sat down with her legs over the edge. She slipped her arms around the rails and felt a sense of floating over the wide ocean as her limbs dangled over the boat.

"Richard…" She whispered to herself as a sudden feeling of loneliness swept over her like a wave, "When can I go back home…?" Alice asked herself, knowing she was talking to no one but it still felt good to actually say what she had wanted to ask Asbel or the Captain. The princess frowned, horribly depressed by the absence of her brother.

Suddenly she heard heavy footsteps behind her and as she whipped around to see Captain Malik walking over to her, "Can't sleep?" He asked as he sat down next to her, "Did you get seasick?" He added.

She shook her head, "No, I just can't sleep." Alice sighed, "My entire life, I had never spent a night without my brother, Richard." She began, "Maybe that's why it's so hard for me to sleep tonight; I know that when I wake up, he won't be there."

Malik grabbed her shoulder firmly, "It'll be alright," He assured her, "I'm sure that it'll get easier over time. Pretty soon, you'll be back home with your brother and have your old life back." Malik smiled, "It's best to just push it to the back of your mind and focus on the present; right now it's past midnight and you're on a boat. So how about you try to go to sleep?" He saw her hardly paying attention as she gazed out over the dark ocean, "How about you talk about it? Perhaps a good memory that'll help you renew your hope in Richard?"

Alice glanced to the side at Malik and sighed, "When I was younger my father let me share a room with Richard but by the time he turned fifteen, I was told he was too old to be sharing his room with an eleven year old." She continued, "So I was moved into the next room. That night we had a big thunderstorm and ever since I was little, I've hated thunderstorms. I was forbidden to leave my room after dark so I stayed up all night, hiding under my covers as I waited for the storm to pass."

She looked up at the moon, "The next morning, I asked my father if Richard and I could have a door to connect our two rooms. Right after I asked, he agreed and had the guards put in a door between our rooms that would let me go into Richard's room." Alice seemed to be cheering up, "I remember one night we had a really severe storm so I ran into Richard's room. He let me curl up next to him and spend the night there with him. That's the kind of relationship I've always had with him…"

"And that's why it's so hard for you to be apart?" Malik finished her sentence as she trailed off from her story. He let the young girl lean against him, "I've known Richard almost as long as you have so I can honestly say that I believe Richard will come through for us, alright?" He stood up and held his hand down to her to pull her up, "Why don't you get back to bed?"

* * *

**To whoever left me a review under the guest name Dana1290, thank you very much! I would've replied but you left that review as a guest so I couldn't reply! Please, I'd love to answer your question so please email me if you see this! Thank you!**


	19. Rocking the Rockgagong!

Early in the morning, the boat slowly pulled up to the docks. Alice was just waking up while the others had already gathered their things to get off the ship, "There you are, Alice." Asbel began as he gently pushed her towards the front of the group, "Did you really just wake up?" He asked, looking down at her.

"It was a long night for me." She replied. Asbel figured it out immediately that it had been her first night without Richard and assumed she was feeling lonely. It was more of a reason for him to make sure she knew that she would always have him to support her. "So this is Strahta?" She wondered aloud as she walked down the board to the dock.

Alice walked down the dock with Asbel close behind her as she marveled at the small port city of Oul Raye. She found it as beautiful as Lhant was on her first visit and looked like a kid in a candy shop. As she jumped from place to place, she made sure to talk to some of the locals, "Is it always this hot here?" She asked, fanning herself with her hand.

The older woman nodded; she was an elderly lady with light gray hair tied in a tight braid, "Oh, this is actually one of our cooler days. Here you go, darling," The woman handed a beautiful blue and red fan to Alice; "I can see you're not from Strahta so please take this."

The princess unfolded the silk fan and began to flick it back and forth, her face feeling the cool breeze, "Thank you, very much!" She said curtsying to the elder before looking back at Asbel motioned for her to join them again. "It was nice talking to you, ma'am." She spun around and ran over to her friends with the fan.

"Where did you get that?" Asbel wondered.

Alice pointed back at the older woman, "The nice woman over there gave it to me." She answered happily as she fanned herself a few times then handed it to Sophie, "What to try?" She asked. Sophie took the fan and flicked it back and forth but had it facing the Captain, "No, like this." Alice took the fan and turned it around so it was being properly used.

"It's a beautiful fan…" Cheria commented as she watched Sophie as she played with it, "make sure you're gently, Sophie." She warned before looking up at Alice, "Oh, Alice, how about I tie up your hair for you?" She offered, walking behind the princess and gathering the mass of blonde hair in her hands.

She allowed Cheria to get her hair off her neck and tie it up using a big white ribbon in her pocket. Cheria styled it into bow then used Alice's bobby pins to gather the hair and wrap it around the base of the ribbon so it appeared to be in a bun. Pascal smiled, "Aw, it looks cute!" She exclaimed as Cheria finished.

Alice looked up to Cheria, "Thank you." She said before turning to Asbel, "Should we get going to Sable Izolle? It's the next town over; I don't think you can get to Yu Liberte from here. Or so I hear from what the locals told me."

Asbel nodded, "Right, we should probably be on our way to whatever the town is. This message needs to get to the capital as fast as possible." He added before they began setting off out of Oul Raye.

As they moved through the hot desert sands, Alice spotted a strange looking plant that she didn't recognize. While the others dealt with a small monster that had attacked Pascal when she got to close, Alice went to inspect the plant. To her, it looked quite fuzzy; weird pieces of what looked furry protruded from the base of the plant and pretty pink flowers bloomed from the top.

She brushed her hand across the plant to feel how fuzzy it was but found the result extremely painful, "Ouch!" She shouted just as the others finished up their fight with the strange looking lizard and looked her direction.

Malik ran to the princess's aid along with the others and knelt down next to her, "What is it, princess-" He sighed, "Oh, I see you found a cactus." He muttered as he took her hand and inspected the amount of cactus needles she had in her hand. The captain glanced up to Asbel for him to help remove the thorns, "Princess, you must be more careful. This'll hurt a little, okay?"

The auburn-haired boy sat down in front of Alice and grabbed her hand, pulling at the skin at the sides of her hands so that the needles would be easier to remove. "Cheria, to you have bandages so that she doesn't scratch it?" He asked as he pulled out the first needle. Alice fidgeted a little, not expecting the Captain to take out the first needle so quickly.

While Cheria searched through her bag for bandages, the Captain went after the next few needles, pulling them out easily. Alice seemed to relax a little more, getting comfortable with the process as Malik had only one left to remove. Once he got the needle out of her hand, Asbel took the bandages from Cheria and wrapped them around Alice's hand, "Good thing you're not left-handed, Alice." He laughed, pulling her back up.

Alice open and closed her hand, "It's itchy." She growled, rubbing the bandages with her other hand.

"Don't do that!" Cheria scolded, slapping away Alice's right hand, "It's itchy because Strahtan Cacti have a liquid that they release from their needles that make the wounds itchy." Malik question where she got the information from, "My grandfather had a book about dangerous plants from over the world." She explained quickly.

The princess flinched, "Sorry…." She muttered as they continued on, Alice rubbing her hand against the hilt of her sword whenever Cheria wasn't looking. As the kept walking through the desert, the heat slowly started getting to Alice and she slowed her pace to a near crawl, "Ugh… It's too hot…" They eventually came to a young woman leaning against a rock, "Excuse me, ma'am," Alice began, "But how much farther is it to Sable Izolle?"

The woman looked up from her canteen to smile at the travelers, "Oh, not too far; it's just around these rocks here." She patted the wall she was leaning against, "You'll be able to see it once you go around this corner. But watch out," She warned, "There's a big ole riot going on in there. Some people protecting the removal of the Rockgagong or something like that."

"The Rockgagong?" Asbel repeated, "What's that?"

"Oh, it's this big creature," She stood up and held her hands up to show that it was a big beast, "Much bigger than this of course! It's been blocking the road to Yu Liberte for quite some time and keeps preventing merchants from getting their goods to and from the Capital!"

Alice looked up at Malik, "Sounds interesting…" She muttered then turned to the woman, "Thanks for the heads up, lady!" She exclaimed before they were sent on their way again.

Sophie stuck close to Asbel and Cheria, "The Rockgagong sounds scary, Asbel. Are we gonna have to fight it?" She asked worriedly. Pascal and Alice hung back with the Captain in a small chat about what was better; bananas or apples.

Cheria shook her head, "Of course not! It would be impossible for us to take down something that size! Just from hearing about it makes it seem unbelievably strong and overwhelming." She trailed off as they could see Sable Izolle in the distance, "Look, it's the next town!" She exclaimed happily.

"It's about time!" Alice yelled, "I'm dying out here!" She had grown too accustomed to the cool breezes that swept through Windor constantly thanks to their valkines cryas named Gloandi, "I could never live here; I have no idea how these people manage."

The Captain shook his head, "Honestly, princess…" He muttered, "You have no adaptation skills whatsoever, do you?" He questioned, asking it rhetorically.

They came up on the city quickly and Alice felt a wonderful sense of relief that she could finally find a decent water source, "Hey, isn't that Rockgagong-or-whatever thing somewhere around this city?" Pascal wondered aloud, "I kinda want to see it." Asbel suggested that they look around town and ask the people for some help.

"Hey, Sophie," Alice began, "Where did you put my fan?" She asked. The young girl took out the silk fan and handed it back to its owner, "Thanks." She began to fan herself, "Pascal, how about we go find a Turtlez and see if he can tell us anything?" Alice looked up to Asbel, "How about we meet in front of that big tower when we're done?" She suggested.

Asbel nodded and the princess walked off with Pascal over a wooden bridge. They came to a lower area where she could see the familiar creature standing behind a Turtlez vendor, "Excuse me, sir," She began, "But do you know if you could tell us about the Rockgagong?"

The Turtlez vendor looked down at the little girl and Pascal, "That Rockgagong?" He asked, "Uh, well it nearly gobble dup me and my Turtlez but we luckily got away. It's a huge beast!" He exclaimed, "You best stay here in Sable Izolle or go back to Oul Raye, it isn't safe past here!"

"So there's no way to avoid this Rockgagong? How did you get here without being killed?" Pascal asked.

He shook his head, "Just pure lucky, I think." He answered, "I wouldn't try your luck at doing it though, you might get yourselves killed." He warned them before turning to a man who had come to buy some gels from the Turtlez.

Alice sighed as she and Pascal walked away from the useless vendor, "Well, he was a lot of help." She huffed as they walked up the gradual slope to see a big crowd gathering at the tower, "Hm, what's going on over there?" She asked as they approached the group.

"You can't kill the Rockgagong!" A man roared, "It has great scientific value to us as it has lived for eons!" Other men in white coats agreed with one loud shout as a Strahtan soldier tried to calm to riot. "I don't want to Rockgagong to be gone…" A small child whined.

The soldier shook his head, "We're not here to kill it!" He yelled, "We're just investigating to see how we can safely take care of the situation." He was then challenged by the fact soldiers were deployed onto the highroad that led to Yu Liberte, "It's just so we can quickly respond is the creature begins hurting civilians!"

Alice glanced across the clearing to see Asbel and approached him with Pascal, "Asbel, what's going on here?" She asked, "The Rockgagong's dangerous so why are people so bent on protecting it? It won't let merchants through with goods so it's hurting them more than helping them…"

"The Rockgagong has become a beloved creature by the people of Sable Izolle." Malik informed, "Since this is the research capital of the country, they like to have it because it's the oldest living thing on this planet." He explained, "It's never caused trouble before so I guess you can say it has acquired quite the fan club."

An older man began making his way over towards the group, "I'm sorry but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation; you're very well informed for foreigners." He mentioned, "It's true, the Rockgagong is very well loved by these people and the numbers of the protestors are growing with each passing day. Huh?" He looked at Alice, "Well, look what we have here; the princess of Windor! You've grown!"

Normally, Alice would feel uncomfortable when someone recognized her in a country she wasn't all too welcomed in but this man seemed kind, "I'm sorry, do I know you?" She asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"I'm no one I'd expect you to remember," He replied before continuing with the matter of the Rockgagong, "Our one problem is that many people make primary use of the road the Rockgagong is on so we need to find a way to open it quickly. Our people are very much divided and the situation is only getting worse."

Asbel nodded, "I agree, and this is a big problem for use; we need to make our way to Yu Liberte right now but it seems we'd be pushing our luck if we tried to get past to Rockgagong." He gestured to the group.

The strange man sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that but I'm afraid there's nothing the Strahtan military can do about it right now." He answered before leaving abruptly.

"Well, that was weird…" Alice commented before turning to the others, "So, Captain, in a worst-case scenario, how dangerous is the Rockgagong?" She asked, "If it's only a small threat, we might be able to sneak by."

Malik crossed his arms, "I've heard it's an enormous creature but other than that, I've only heard that it's a gentle being." He shook his head, "But I'm afraid it might still pose a threat to us if we decide to use the road anyway."

"I say we use the road anyways!" Pascal suggested, "I mean, if we see it and it tries to attack us, we can always hightail it and run." She seemed quite pleased with her plan, seeing no way that it could fail.

Everyone seemed to have mixed feelings about the idea; on one hand, it was a start but on the other, it was extremely dangerous. "I say we give it a try; I mean, the worst thing that could happen is that we're turned back. It's not like we're accomplishing anything by standing around here doing nothing."

* * *

They decided to go with Pascal's idea and began walking down the road towards where the Rockgagong had said to reside. The entire desert was like a barren wasteland to Alice and the wondrous feeling she had gotten when she first arrived had faded away. As they came up to a cliff, the ground began shaking fiercely.

Pascal steadied Alice as she nearly toppled over, "Earthquake!" Pascal shouted in her excitement as the tremor didn't let up. Alice looked back at the Captain who seemed just as confused as everyone else. Sand was being kicked up as a gust of wind blew through and Alice shielded her eyes from the sandstorm, "Ew, I got some in my mouth!" Pascal complained.

"Everyone, look!" Cheria shouted as an enormous creature climbed up over the cliffs with a low growl, "Is that the Rockgagong!?" The tremors finally stopped as the creature went still and the sand began to calm down, falling back onto the ground.

In her wonderment, Pascal stepped forward, "Whoa that really is a big puppy!" She squealed happily, "I didn't think it would be that big! And we're only looking at the upper body of it!" Suddenly, the Rockgagong began to creep forward again, "It's coming for us!"

Before they knew it, the Rockgagong's face was only feet away as it starred at the group. They shouted as it opened its mouth and bent down, consuming all of them and swallowing before pulling itself back onto its feet with a loud roar.

* * *

**Thank you everyone for reading this far! I really appreciate it! Alice is starting to develope more as a character as she realizes she's not compeltely alone in all of this.**

**As a sidenote, to answer your question, Dana1290 (who asked if Asbel and Alice would end up together) I'm sorry to disappoint but no, they will not. I'm a really big fan of CheriaxAsbel and RichardxAsbel. This fanfic isn't actually for a love story or a yaoi fic so unless another character comes up, Alice won't have a pairing. It would've definetely been an interesting turn out but I had Asbel playing the part of a close friend that's like a brother to her.**


	20. Parasitic Problems

Alice was the last the fall into the pit of the Rockgagong's stomach, landing on Asbel as he pushed himself up. He pushed the young girl off of himself as she got up to his feet, helping her up as well, "Oh, we are not where I think we are." She groaned as she looked around at her surroundings. She walked over to Captain Malik and shook him awake, "Captain, wake up!"

"I hate to say it but it looks like we're inside the Rockgagong." Asbel answered with a slight hint of regret. He and Sophie woke up Cheria and Pascal, helping them to their feet, "So I guess this is where things get…. Complicated."

"Whoa!" Pascal exclaimed, "I can't believe we're actually inside the Rockgagong's stomach! How cool is this!?" She twirled in her place a few times, "Field trip! Field trip!" She chanted whilst spinning. Alice helped Pascal stop and steadied the older girl by holding her shoulders.

Sophie placed her hands on her stomach, "We're in the Rockgagong's stomach?" She wondered aloud, trying to grasp the concept that they had just been eaten. She poked one of the boulders next to her, "It's all sticky…" She muttered.

The hair suddenly stood on end on Alice's arms, "Sophie, don't touch that, it's probably horribly toxic." She warned as Sophie wiped the substance on her shirt and turned to the others who were disgusted with their situation, "So how do we get out of here? I don't think any of us want to be corroded away by acids."

"That's an image…" Cheria muttered, "Well Pascal, you got us into this mess with your suggestion so what do you think we should do to get out of here?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

Pascal turned in one direction, "Well, it may look icky but I think the mouth's that ay so we should try and get out that way." She looked over her shoulder at Cheria, "Unless you'd like to use the other exit!" She added happily. She saw Cheria's lack of enthusiasm, "It might not make you feel much better but I'm almost sure that this path will lead us to the head!"

Asbel sighed, "I hope you're right… Or else we'll get digested and go out its butt anyway…" Alice groaned at Asbel's choice of words as she covered her ears and began walking off with Pascal towards the head of the Rockgagong.

They were only walking for about ten minutes when they came to a stop. A low rustling sound echoed around them as they glanced around, looking for the source. Alice took a few steps forward and looked up at the ceiling of the Rockgagong's stomach in the direction of the noise. "Princess, look out!" Asbel yelled as he darted forward and grabbed Alice, pulling her back towards the group just as an enormous creature jumped out to attack.

The creature looked like a scorpion with a stinger full of deadly poisons and was standing where Alice had been just moments ago, "Thanks, Asbel…" She muttered before taking a good look at beast as she drew out her blade, "What is that thing!?"

Suddenly, the creature ran straight for them, its stinger going over its head as it attempted to attack Pascal who was busy casting a spell. Sophie managed to jump in front of Pascal, blocking the attack as she held it off for the girl to cast. When Pascal finally finished the casting, the creature was engulfed in fire and jumped back from the group.

It hit Asbel away as he jumped up slash at its stinger and he went skidding against the ground and nearly into the toxic acids. Cheria grabbed onto his sleeve, casting Lightning Blast to keep the monster away from Asbel. As she pulled him up to a safer land, Malik threw his bladering across the stinger, sending toxic acids over the ground.

Pascal casted one final spell on the creature and it slowly collapsed onto the ground, the toxins pouring from the stinger as it fell into the stomach acids of the Rockgagong, "Okay, this is definitely one of the most disturbing trips I have ever taken." Alice pointed out blatantly.

"If you think that's disturbing," Pascal began, "One time when I was little my big sister-" She was cut off my Malik making a motion for her to stop talking as the young girl looked like she was going to be sick.

"Asbel, is that a house…?" Alice wondered to him as a small hut made of straw appeared not too far away. She and Asbel jumped over a small stream of toxic acid, followed closely by the others, "It is!"

"I can't believe someone would be able to live down here…" Cheria commented, "Do you think someone's house was swallowed by the Rockgagong and they decided to just carry on with their life?" She suggested as they came up to the house and knocked on the door, "No answer…" She shrugged, opening the door slowly.

"Boo!" Pascal shouted as she saw that Cheria was being cautious as to see if any creatures were living inside. She proceeded to laugh, "Oh man, Cheria you should've seen your face!" She yelled, "Please tell me someone else saw that!" She bent over as she cracked herself up while Malik gave a slight smirk.

Cheria glared back at Pascal as everyone continued into the small house, looking around the abandoned home. Papers were scattered across the floor with a book sitting open next to them. The book shelves had books hanging over the sides and stacked high on the top while others were just tossed aside, "What a mess."

As Asbel sifted through the books on the shelf, he came to find a strange looking instrument, "A flute…?" He wondered aloud, "Think this might come in handy sometime?" He asked, turning to Pascal as he spoke.

"Yeah, let's just take it." She answered, "Who knows when it'll come to good use?" She looked around quickly, "So do you think there's anything else useful in here?"

"Looks like a bunch of junk to me…" Alice replied as she opened a book to a random page to find it drenched is some gooey liquid. But then she saw the Captain bent down by the book and papers at the center of the room, "What do you have, Captain?" She sat down and flipped through the pages of the journal, "A journal…"

Malik looked up for a moment, "They seem to be research on the Rockgagong and why it went on its rampage…" He observed, "They've been written recently too by the dates on here. It says something about that creature from earlier caused the Rockgagong's disruption."

"Do you think that those are parasites that are making it sick?" Alice suggested, "Maybe if… We eliminate those things; we can help it calm down and save the rest of the civilians from the Rockgagong." She concluded as she pushed herself up to her feet.

Cheria nodded, "We could definitely try that." She agreed, "And if we split up, maybe we'll be able to eliminate the parasites quickly and just get out of here!" She exclaimed happily. Now that they were getting somewhere, she was in a much better mood.

The Captain crossed his arms and nodded as he stood up, "Alright then, we'll split off into groups. Asbel, you come with me, Pascal and Alice, you take further up the path that this house is on, and then Sophie and Cheria, you two take the right path from here." He organized the groups quickly as he went for the door with Asbel, "We'll meet up where Alice and Pascal are going once we're done."

Once everyone agreed on the plan, they split up into their groups and rushed off on their paths. Alice and Pascal had been assigned to the path that took them past the hut and began to make small talk as they went along, "Do you remember the last time we went off by ourselves in Gralesyde?" She asked, "Doesn't this remind of that? You know, except for the fact that we're inside the stomach of the Rockgagong!"

"Yeah, I remember that…" Alice muttered, "And then my brother got so mad at me. I was so stupid to let the time get away from me." She added, "So uh, how do you think we should handle these things? I'll keep you covered while you cast so we can kill it without risking ourselves getting hurt too much."

Pascal smiled, "Y'okay, sounds good to me!" She exclaimed. Suddenly, a beast similar to the creature before jumped down from its perch and Pascal skipped back a few feet. She spun around to face the beast, "Alright, Alice, your plan! Let's go!

Alice unsheathed her sword and slid in between Pascal and the monster, raising the blade as it went to attack with its stinger. She pushed back against the strong force as Pascal began casting a spell with glyphs that surrounded her. The princess grit her teeth together as the strength behind the attack was becoming too much for her, "Let's hurry it up, Pascal!" She growled.

"Got it!" Pascal shouted and she pointed her shotstaff at the creature as she balanced on one leg, "Bloodflame!" Alice quickly rolled out of the way as a line of fire shot underneath the scorpion and sent it flying back into a giant rock spire. The column collapsed onto the scorpion as it writhed underneath the added weight.

Before it could get up again, lice ran forward and jumped onto its back, stabbing her sword through its chest, killing it swiftly. Alice stepped off of the monster and brushed herself off as she sheathed her sword, "That was a little easier than the first, don't you agree?"

Pascal nodded, "Yeah, maybe it was its baby or something!" She casted a quick wind arte that pushed the creature into the toxic acids so that it could corrode then plopped down on the ground. Alice sat down in a more elegant way with her legs to the side as the two waited for the others to return from killing the parasites.

It felt like hours to the two girls; probably because they were waiting in the stomach of an enormous creature of rocks. Finally, Alice caught sight of the others making their way up the path towards them. She stood up with Pascal and the groups finally joined back together after eliminating the parasites, "Did it go well?"

"It went nicely," Cheria answered then sighed, "So how much longer until we can get out of here?" She asked, "This place is disgusting and its unsanitary to be in here for so long." Cheria looked at the ground.

Pascal crossed her arms, "What if we're gonna be stuck in here for the rest of our lives!?" She commented, sounded all too excited about the mere idea of such an outrageous suggestion. Her carefree take on the situation at hand somewhat irritated Alice but Pascal was probably one of the only people keeping her mind off her brother with her random outbursts and laid back attitude.

Cheria shook her head, "Why are you so calm about this?"

"We could just make a big happy family!" Pascal exclaimed, "You and Asbel could be the mom and dad, Sophie, Alice, and I can be the three sisters, and…" She jumped with joy as if her 'genius' idea impressed herself, "The Captain can be the Grandpa!"

Suddenly the Captain reached over his shoulder to grab his bladering, "Pascal…" He growled.

"Whoa, it's only a joke!" She exclaimed, "Please don't kill me; it's not because you're old or anything I just-"

Alice reached forward and grabbed Pascal's scarf, chocking her as she pulled Pascal back over to her, "He means 'look out!"" Just as Pascal got out of the way and fell backwards onto the ground, a much larger version of the scorpions that inhabited the Rockgagong jumped down from a stone pillar with a loud roar, "The hell!?"

Asbel stepped forward with his hand on the hilt of his sword, "It's got to be the queen; if we kill this thing then the parasites will stop coming." He slashed across the front of the creature to keep it back as Pascal readied a strong spell. Malik casted a quick spell on his bladering so that it caught fire as it slashed across the queen.

Hopping out of the way, Sophie dodged a shot from the scorpion's toxin that it shot from its stinger. She then counterattacked as she jumped into the air and came down on the scorpion, making it shriek in pain. Alice followed up by throwing her sword into the beast's stinger than ran to the scorpion, jumping up to grab the hilt and swing herself onto the blade.

The captain threw his bladering up to where Alice was and she caught it with ease. She put her legs over the blade and hung upside down as she slashed the base of the scorpion's stinger. As the monster lashed out through it pain, Alice managed to grab her sword before behind tossed off its back and into the open arms of the Captain.

Alice handed the bladering to Malik as he put her down and she turned to the scorpion as Pascal's attack had finally finished casting. Pascal pointed the shotstaff into the air and a big glyph appeared underneath the enemy. As light shot up from the glyph, Cheria added to the damage by throwing knives into its body and Sophie finished it off by uppercut punching it into the air where it landed into the gooey toxic stomach acids.

Malik put his bladering away now that the threat had been eliminated, "Well, that takes care of our parasites... But there's still the matter at hand where we need to find our way out of here." He added.

In his hand, Asbel held the charm that Hubert had given him. Now it was broken and a small amount of a black powder was leaking out from the small tear, "Oh, Asbel… The charm Hubert gave you…" Alice muttered, "It's broken."

Pascal walked over to Asbel and examined the black powder. Suddenly her face began to scrunch up then she took a deep breath and sneezed, "Pepper!?" He exclaimed out of his surprise that Hubert would put pepper into a good luck charm.

Just at that moment, the entire chamber began to shake violently and Alice held onto the Captain to steady herself as a strange gust of wind started to blow from the direction of where they believed the head was, "What's happening!?" She yelled. And as she spoke, the wind lifted the group into the air and sent them flying to the other side of the Rockgagong's stomach.

* * *

**Hey everyone! So I'm happy that I've kept this going for 20 Chapters and amde this my most successful fanfiction on my account! This story currently takes up 93 pages on my Word Document which I am very proud of. **

**Also, Dana1290, I will answer this one last question but if you have any more, please use one of the contacts on my account profile? The question this time was what Alice thoguht of Hubert. I actually haven't decided what Alice's relationto Hubert will be. I'm still thinking about it since they hardly interact with each other even though Hubert has only appeared in maybe two or three chapters. The most their relationship will be a strong friendship. This is mainly because I'm a HubertxPascal person~**


	21. Enemy Territory

The sudden light on Alice's face made her shield her eyes from the natural light as she pushed herself up. Her heart filled with delight as she felt the warm sand on her hands and as she moved her hand from her face to find herself back outside with everyone, "We made it!" She exclaimed happily as she jumped up with joy.

"Do you think Rockgagong spit us out because of the pepper?" Cheria suggested as she brushed the grains of sand from her clothing.

Asbel nodded, "I guess that charm Hubert gave us was a lot luckier than we thought…" He laughed a little, "But why would he fill it with pepper?" He wondered afterwards, "It's a little strange, don't you think?"

With sudden realization Pascal smiled, "Maybe he knew the Rockgagong was gonna eat us so he wanted us to have a way to escape!"

"I find that highly unlikely, Pascal." Alice answered with a smile of her own, "Maybe he didn't have anything else to fill it with? I've done that before when I helped out chef with cooking once… I substituted an apple gel with a grape gel and needless to say… It tasted pretty foul." Suddenly she realized a large absence, "Where'd the Rockgagong go?"

Malik turned around, "It seems to have fled the area. Let this be another strike of good luck for the time being." He muttered, "And hopefully, eliminating those parasites have helped it calm down a little and set it off its rampage."

Suddenly a firm hand placed itself on Alice's shoulder and she jumped nearly three feet into the air, spinning around to see the old man from Sable Izolle. He smiled, "Oh, forgive me if I had scared you little Princess Alice." He apologized. Alice's face twisted slightly as he called her little. "Thank you everyone, the highroad is now open to the citizens once again now that the Rockgagong has returned to its peaceful nature." He bowed slightly, "But please, I have to know how you did it."

"We cleared the parasites out of the Rockgagong's system. They were making it go on a rampage." Asbel explained shortly, leaving out many details to spare themselves the strange looks from this man. "When we were looking for an exit… My charm broke. It was full of pepper so we were sneezed out I guess…"

The man raised an eyebrow, "That looks like a Cryas Charm." He observed.

Asbel just then realized something and everything was now clear to him, "Now I remember!" He exclaimed, "I gave this charm to Hubert a long time ago when we were kids! Right after Alice and Richard went back to Windor I think. I couldn't find cryas so I just put pepper in it." He laughed at himself. Asbel looked down at the charm, "I can't believe he actually kept it all these years."

"It's been said that cryas charms will always protect those who bear them." The man informed with a smile, "I've heard that they even work when there's no cryas inside the charm." He crossed his arms, "At any rate, I think the Rockgagong will now return to its peaceful ways. If you hadn't come our way then I'm afraid I would've had to resort to unpleasant measures."

Sophie titled her head slightly, "So you're not going to hurt the Rockgagong?" She inquired, worried that the Strahtan military would proceed to dispose of the creature to prevent such a case from happening again.

Slowly, a smile formed on the man's lips, "Of course not, everyone's safe now and the Rockgagong won't be bothering us any longer." He then turned to Asbel, "Please, would you tell me what business you have in the Capital? What could be so urgent that you'd face the Rockgagong to reach Yu Liberte?"

"My brother's in a bad situation and we're here with a message to help him out of it." Asbel answered, "In order for us to accomplish that, we need to meet someone in Yu Liberte." He finished, trying not to give out too many details about the circumstances.

He bowed, "I see... I hope you achieve your goals in helping your brother. Good luck; I have a feeling our paths might cross again." He then looked up at Alice with a smile and feeling of respect, "Stay safe, Princess." He advised before walking off without another word.

Asbel nodded to the man as he left then turned around to face the group, "Well, now that the highroad's open, how about we start making our way to Yu Liberte?" He suggested. Everyone agreed but as they continued on towards Yu Liberte, Asbel looked over at Alice. "How did that man know you?" He asked.

Alice thought hard for a moment as she searched her memory for the man's face in a further past but found nothing. "I don't know," She began, "Being the princess I'm sure he's seen me and maybe that's what he meant. He could a friend of my late father's but I doubt that. He rarely made friends in such unlikely places as Strahta." Alice sighed, "Honestly, the only relation I could possibly have to that man is that he was probably at a ceremony at which I appeared."

"So in other words you don't have a single clue whatsoever?" Pascal summarized Alice's thoughts into one short sentence. "Maybe you do know him and you just forgot because you were caught up in your princess-y duties or something, huh?" She suggested.

Shaking her head Alice let out a sigh, "I'm pretty sure that princess-y is not a real word but you're probably right, Pascal. I tend to brush off everyone I meet as just another person I'll never see again. Except people like you guys, of course."

The princess suddenly had Pascal's arm slung around her shoulder and was practically hanging off the girl, "Do you remember when we first met and I didn't know that you and Richard were siblings?!" She exclaimed, in awe of how stupid she had been earlier.

Malik seemed surprised by the memory, "You didn't know that Alice was his Majesty's younger sister? But they're practically identical." He began, "Honestly, Pascal how could you not think they were related; even cousins would've been a start."

Pascal let go of Alice and shrugged, "I dunno," She replied, "It was only, like, right after I met them so I didn't know that much about Richard and Alice. But when I mentioned it to them, they gave me a look like I had fourteen heads!"

"Isn't the expression say two heads and not fourteen?" Asbel muttered to himself, "Anyways, Alice, won't the soldiers in the Capital be a little wary of the princess from an enemy country in the city?" He asked, "I don't think that helping with Rockgagong will be enough to pardon you from any rudeness."

Alice found some humor in what Asbel had to say, "A little rudeness won't kill me." She glanced to her side at Asbel as they continued moving, "Besides, I highly doubt they'd do anything to give my brother a good solid reason to attack Strahta." She looked down for a moment and wondered if he even cared about her anymore.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft hand being placed on her elbow, "Don't worry, Alice." Sophie began as she stopped Alice and hugged her, "Asbel says that Richard is still our friend and he'll always be your brother. That means he'll never leave and we'll always be together no matter what happens."

She seemed to be in shock and Alice only looked down at the top of Sophie's head which wasn't much lower than Alice's eyelevel. "Sophie, thank you." She lightly hugged the small girl back and held her shoulder as they continued, "I know that I'll always be his sister but… Nevermind." She decided to drop the topic as it ways but the Captain seemed to know what was on her mind.

If Alice's uncle poisoned not only his brother; the late king, but his son and daughter as well, then her fears were valid. Although it wasn't something Captain Malik preferred to think about, King Richard could easily take out his sister if she began to complicate things.

"Look, Asbel." Sophie pointed off in the close distance, "Is that the Capital?" She asked as she directed everyone's attention to an enormous city that had just popped into their view. Alice felt a pain in her chest as she came closer to the heart of enemy territory but she needed to stay strong right now for Hubert's sake. If anything, her status as the princess of Windor could help them get a meeting with the president even faster.

Cheria was in awe of the brilliant city, "Who would've thought that they were capable of building an entire city in the middle of the desert?" She wondered, "It's such more advanced technology than Windor's…"

Alice shrugged, "Who needs technology when we have the most charming country in the world?" She gloated, "If you ask me, no country can even come close to the beauty of Windor's landscape."

The Captain stepped forward and faced Alice, "Now, Princess, you must remain calm in all situations. No matter what happens past those gates you will need to keep your cool and not let your fear show out to the Strahtan soldiers. They'll see that as a weakness and we'll have to intervene which will make it harder for us to get to president."

"I appreciate your abundance of concern." Alice answered with a small amount of sarcasm in her voice. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." She waved off the Captain as she walked into the city with the others. The princess didn't notice the soldiers that were guarding the gate as they turned their heads to watch her, trying to confirm that it was really the princess.

When Alice reached the center of the first district in Yu Liberte, she was greeted with a hoard of soldiers with their spears at their necks. She felt herself panicking and tried to calm herself down, ignoring the red hot feeling on her cheeks. Malik stepped forward but quickly reminded himself that he needed to allow Alice to handle this for herself. "State your order of business here right now, Princess Alice of Windor!" A soldier commanded.

Feeling a little comfortable being of such high class, Alice smiled. "Now why don't you calm down with the yelling? Would you really do anything to harm the princess of a country you're already at near-war with?" She saw the soldier tense as he realized there was truth to her words. "Good. So about my order of business; I wish to-"

"You have orders to capture the princess." A man's voice shouted from behind the soldiers. "She is to be brought straight to the president under his own orders." He demanded. Suddenly the soldiers stepped forward with the spears even closer to Alice as they ordered her to go on her knees.

Alice glanced up as they complied with their orders to see spectators standing in their doorways. She looked over to Asbel who was being held back by Mali. On Asbel's face was a look of helplessness as the soldier handcuffed Alice and forced her back to her feet as they ushered her away. "Not good." Asbel muttered.


	22. Cryas Shortages

"President, sir!" A soldier began as he came into the president's meeting room, "We've brought the princess of Windor as you asked." He announced, "Shall we escort her in here for you?" The soldier patiently awaited the president's reply.

Once the man nodded, Alice was ushered into the room with a soldier on either side, grabbing her arms. Her hands were handcuffed behind her back and she had a fierce look on her face as she struggled against the soldiers. The president was not pleased with his soldiers at all, "Stand aside, now!" He roared.

Immediately the soldiers let go of Alice and stepped away as the president approached her calmly. He looked at the soldier who had announced her arrival, "What is she doing in these handcuffs?" He demanded, "Me orders were for you to request the princess to come meet with me; not arrest her!" The man gestured to her, "Unlock those cuffs right now!"

As the handcuffs fell to the ground, Alice rubbed her wrists, "Ah, thank you, Mr. President-" She stopped short in surprise, "Wait a minute, you're that man from Sable Izolle and back in the desert!" She exclaimed. Alice hadn't realized it before but now it was clear that it was indeed the strange man that she had met twice before.

"My apologies, Princess Alice," The president began, "I thought I had made it clear my soldiers were only to confront you about the matter." He glared back at the soldiers. "They have disobeyed my orders and I hope you know that their actions will not go unpunished. My wish is that you are not harmed?" He asked, a little worried that if she was injured then her brother would definitely react in a violent manner.

Alice nodded, "I remain unharmed by your soldiers and I believe that you can let them go with no punishment. Perhaps they misinterpreted your words? Or they allowed feelings to take control; a princess of an enemy country in the capital is not something many soldiers would take lightly." She had a large amount of sympathy for people who had just attacked her. It was the same kindness she had shown to Raymond. "And don't worry; my brother will not hear any word of this encounter."

There was a knock on the door and another soldier that had been guarding the door popped his head in, "President, Asbel Lhant is here to see you." He announced. The President ordered the soldiers to leave the room then requested that Asbel be sent in.

"Alice!" Asbel exclaimed as he came into the room and placed his hands on Alice's shoulder. "Are you alright, princess?" She nodded in reply then he turned to see the president, "Wait, you're the same man we-"

The President bent down in a bow. "President Dylan Paradine at your service; I thank you for your help with the Rockgagong, Asbel Lhant." He smiled at Asbel, "I figured you weren't going to believe me if I told you I was the president when I was dressed in such a manor; I wasn't trying to hide my identity. After all, it took me awhile to be fully convinced that you were the princess, Alice when you're dressed in a fashion like that." There was a knock at the door, "Come in!"

In the doorway appeared an older man with graying hair. He was dressed in a faded purple robe and wore glasses similar to the ones that Hubert wore. Alice immediately recognized the man as Garrett Oswell; the man who adopted Hubert seven years ago. He was definitely a face she wouldn't forget when he came to the castle to turn in the official adoption files for Hubert.

She turned to Asbel and then to the president, "I think I'll go outside and wait with the others." Alice announced, "It's getting a little too crowded in here for me." The others in the room nodded and she went for the door.

"Wait a moment," Garrett Oswell interrupted as she placed a hand on the door knob. He grabbed Alice's upper sleeve. "Aren't you the princess of Windor? I heard you had entered the city but I thought it was just a rumor spreading amongst soldiers. Tell me, princess; how fares the new king of Windor?"

Alice growled at him; she knew he would do anything to get information about enemy countries. He was in the government after all. "That information is nothing that is your business." She answered, twisting her arm away from Mr. Oswell. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave." And with that, Alice left the room in a rather ill mood.

Just as Alice turned to shut the door, she was greeted by an overwhelming strength picking her up in a tight squeeze. "You're alive! I thought for sure they were going to throw you in prison, or eat you!" Pascal familiar voice yelled.

"Pascal, take it easy on her, you might break her." Malik warned teasingly as she set Alice back down. He walked over to the young girl as she had a somber look on her face. "Is something wrong, Alice?" The Captain asked with some worry in his voice. She shook her head and looked around for Cheria and Sophie, "They went to go look around the city." He answered her quiet question.

Alice placed her hands on her hips, "I see… Well, why don't we do the same? I'm sure it's okay that I walk around now that the whole dispute has been settled. It turned out that the president only wanted me to be asked if I would meet with him." She began walking towards the front door with Malik and Pascal.

Suddenly there was a shout from behind them, "Wait, Princess!" A soldier yelled as she came to them just as they were leaving. "Are you the princess's caretaker?" He asked the Captain, looking up at the larger man. Malik nodded which allowed the soldier to continue, "You must take this." He handed a strange badge to him, "So that this kind of situation doesn't happen again." He bowed to the Captain then Alice before returning back to his posts.

Malik was adjusting the badge onto his jacket as he followed Alice outside into a pressing heat of Strahta. The princess's hair remained up in the bow that Cheria had put in and she was surprised it had stayed in after the entire thing with the Rockgagong. However, when she raised her hand to check the bow, she found it slightly shredded and frowned in disappointment.

"This heat is unbearable…" Alice growled as she walked in Malik's gigantic shadow. Although it didn't provide much of a cool space, she made herself believe that it would keep her from burning. She went through her bag until she found the fan again and began beat it through the air, sending cool air over her face.

The Captain looked down at Alice, "Have you had any water to drink lately, princess?" He asked, "You're unaccustomed to this type of heat, you should keep yourself properly hydrated." Malik warned, looking out for her health as she would not.

Alice shook her head, "I haven't had anything to drink since we got off the boat at Oul Raye." She answered, "Let's find Cheria first and see if they have any water before we spend our money on some." It hadn't taken awhile to spot Cheria standing at the opposite end of the residential district of Yu Liberte and the three approached her.

"Oh, princess!" Cheria exclaimed, "The released you?" Alice took the time to quickly explain to Cheria. "I see, so it was just a misunderstanding." She turned to Sophie, "Well, we bought some water bottles for everyone since none of us have been drinking regularly." The princess took her water bottle after thanking her and took a large sip.

Pascal took hers and held her hand out to Cheria, "Can I see one of your knives?" She requested. At first hesitant, Cheria handed over a knife to the older girl and she stabbed a hole at the top of the water bottle. As she returned the knife to its owner, Pascal held the bottle upside down over her open mouth and squirted the water into her mouth.

While Pascal continued to squirt water into her mouth, Alice watched her carefully. It was something she had never seen before and decided that it looked like an entertaining way to drink water. "Cheria, can I see your knife?" She asked.

Captain Malik shook his head at the princess as she poked a hole at the top and mimicked Pascal happily. Alice seemed quite content with herself once she was finished drinking for the time being and she looked up at the Captain. "You should try it too, Captain." She teased playfully.

"I think I'll pass on that, Princess." He replied, taking the knife from her and handing it to Cheria. "We should probably start making our way back to the President's house. Asbel's business with President Paradine is mostly likely done with."

As they made their into the president's house in the government district, they found Asbel just leaving the room at the back. He didn't seem all too pleased as his face showed an expression of frustration. "He told me that Hubert's recall is a done decision and can't be taken back…" He muttered. "I guess the only reason why Strahta was sent to Lhant was to get our cryas. But…"

"With the way Hubert's doing things, they aren't getting what they want?" Alice finished his sentence as Asbel trailed off. She was never really sure of what the message was exactly but now that they were talking it about it; she assumed it was regarding Hubert being recalled to Strahta. "I knew Strahta knew what cryas shortages were like but are they really so desperate as to steal from my country?"

Asbel nodded and the Captain let out a long sigh, "So they're going to replace him in Lhant with someone else…" He concluded.

"The only way we could help Hubert stay in Lhant is by helping Strahta with their cryas shortages." Asbel added, "Which is definitely easier said than done. Would you be okay with that, Alice? Helping the country that's invading your own?"

Alice nodded, "Of course I don't mind!" She exclaimed, "I would never turn my back on a country. I know that if Windor was in a shortage, I'd want someone to help us out and get back on our feet." Windor was a country that never knew what shortages were like but if Strahta continued to occupy Lhant then they soon would.

But something ate away at Alice's conscious; Richard still wasn't happy with the way things had been settled in Lhant. She knew what Richard was likely to do; he wouldn't just go to Lhant and claim the cryas mines… He would go to the source of his problems and do the same to them; cut off their cryas. "This is a hard situation for one to solve…" Malik muttered, interrupting Alice's train of thought.

"Why Windor?" Pascal wondered aloud. Everyone looked at her for her to explain her outburst, "Why would Strahta want Windor's cryas though? It's not like they need its cryas; they have their very own valkines cryas." She sighed, "And I know they must have the technology to harvest the valkines cryas."

Asbel seemed to realize what Pascal meant, "You're right, Pascal! That does seem a little strange that they wouldn't go to their valkines before coming to Windor… There's nothing special about Windor's cryas so I don't see why they'd invade our mines."

"With a valkines cryas there really shouldn't be a cryas shortage." Cheria added, "Thus no reason to invade Lhant's cryas mines. They're only causing themselves problems by doing that so why would they endanger themselves with a possible war with Windor?"

Alice shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. "Perhaps there's something wrong with their valkines cryas which isn't letting them use it as a source? Or maybe if something's wrong with it, it'll be too dangerous to harvest from it." She looked to the door, "Maybe the people around the city will know what's up."

* * *

**Sorry this took so long but I've been a little busy with a new game I got recently. I won't be ablet o update anytime soon as well sine I'm babysitting and going tubing and such. Sorry everyone!**


	23. Paradine's Proposal

"So let's relay what we all found out;" Asbel began, "Apparently it's been getting hot every day in Strahta which is causing the citizens to not be too happy. The fountains' water levels are dropping because a lot of the water is drying up which eventually will become an enormous problem for Strahta if it continues. And then there's that story about a strange man walking off towards the west gate, right?" He finished.

Alice nodded, "That sounds about right." They had gathered in front of the president's home to put together everything they found out. The group had overheard conversations about citizens going as far as protesting the weather to their government. Asbel and the others had wandered into the Oswells' manor but were kicked out immediately on accusations of trespassing. "Should we try going out the west gate?"

"It would be wise to investigate on our own before going to the president with this matter." Captain Malik added, "We're out of place to go and accuse him of something fishy with the cryas shortages."

As they walked down towards the gate, they caught sight of a burly man pushing down a researcher. "Come on, tell me! I heard that the president is sending you guys down to the valkines cryas!"

"Valkines cryas…" Alice repeated to herself before racing forward towards the criminal who was assaulting the researcher. The Captain shouted after her but she ignored him as she confronted the man, "Get away from him!" She commanded.

The man turned to Alice as he drew out a dagger of some sort and laughed. "Oh, you're the princess of Windor. I don't know how much weight you hold in your own country but here; you're dirt." He growled as he lunged forward.

Alice immediately jumped back then used her sword to send the dagger flying out of the man's hand as he slashed for a second time. Now unarmed, the man didn't appear too menacing at all and Alice pointed her blade at the man's neck, "On your knees." She commanded with a strong, steady voice.

He quickly complied with her orders and the other approached, Captain Malik pleased with Alice's tactic. "Wonderful job, my Princess." Malik praised happily before looking to the researcher who was thanking Alice. The others shot questions at the researcher but he only confirmed that the research of the valkines was due to the rising temperature. He quickly darted off out the gate soon after answering. "Guess we'll just have to talk to this one…" Malik sighed, "Alice, let him up."

She stood back, "Stand." Alice ordered shortly as he pushed himself up on his feet, "What do you know about the problems with Duplemar?" She asked. Duplemar was the name of Strahta's valkines cryas and was best known for having dried up the water eleth in the area surrounding it thus the desert land of Strahta.

"I don't know anything about the Duple-whatcha-ma-call-it." The man protested as he crossed his arms. Alice could see that he was lying and just being plain stubborn about giving away what it was he was doing.

Alice sighed, "Look, I'm not from Strahta so I couldn't care less about what it was you were doing. Besides, I already have a clue; financial gain, right?" The man looked down a little, "So why don't you make everything much easier and just talk."

The man continued to refuse so Malik and Sophie stepped forward, each pulling out their weapons. Captain Malik raised an eyebrow at man as he swallowed hard and fidgeted under the large size of Malik. Finally, he agreed to tell them all about it. "Alright!" He shouted, "The valkines cryas isn't working properly so we've been having shortages! I can go now, right?"

"It's not working?" Pascal repeated, "Well that doesn't make much sense…" She added as Asbel sent the man off running in the direction of the gate parallel to the west. Pascal glanced around, "We should go to the president's and sit down to think about all of this." She proposed. Cheria nodded and then led the way to the house where it was a much nicer temperature.

As they came inside, they all sat around a table in the lobby of the house and Pascal leaned over the table with a piece of paper. "Well, we know what our problem is but how can we fix this?" Malik asked, ignoring Pascal as he assumed she was simply just drawing pictures.

Immediately, she sat up, "We're gonna show this plan to the president!" Pascal exclaimed happily as she held up a drawing of a valkines cryas. Given their situation, Alice assumed it was Duplemar. Pascal turned to Alice, "You can go in and tell the president that you've got a friend who knows all about their valkines cryas and wants to help! Then I'll make a proposal he can't ever refuse!" She seemed quite happy with herself.

"How do you know about the valkines cryas?" Asbel wondered aloud.

She turned to him, "Oh, I read about it in some documents and old books that I found awhile back. I really just like to learn about all kinds of stuff." Pascal added, scratching the back of her head as she spoke in a modest tone. "Yeah, he might not care but the least we can do is just show the president, right?"

Alice nodded and turned towards the president's door, "I'll go talk him up so I can get you an audience, Pascal." She said with a smile as she walked over to the guard standing by the door. "Excuse me, I wish to have a meeting with the president about the pressing matter of the valkines cryas." The guard knocked on the door and called to the president before opening the door to Alice, "Thank you." She bowed as she went inside.

"Ah, Princess Alice," The president began, opening his arms in greeting, "What can I do for you I hope that you haven't had any more trouble with my men giving you a hard time." He added as she approached the desk.

"Actually, I came to you to help." Alice began, "I found out that you've recently been having trouble with your valkines cryas, Duplemar. Don't worry, I won't tell my brother of this; I'm not here to sabotage your country. I just wanted to say that I have a friend who is very well informed about the valkines cryas. She thinks she has an idea that can help you with the shortages."

The president seemed quite pleased to hear the news, "A trump card reside sin your deck, I see little Princess. Well, you're not wrong about the valkines cryas. We sent researchers to find out what the problem was and they found Amarcian ruins all around the base of the valkines cryas." Alice was shocked to hear about their discovery. "I see that you're familiar with the ruins of Amarcians? It's possible that the valkines cryas and the ancient race are related but we have to proof to support that theory. The only reason why I'm sharing this information is because I'm actually quite interested in this friend of yours."

Alice smiled, "I'm glad you feel that way." She began, "I appreciate you being so easy to speak with on a sensitive matter such as this."

President Paradine nodded, "But of course. Despite our advanced technology, the researchers of Strahta have very little information on the ways of the Amarcians. So the information your friend may have for us could be crucial to our investigation of Duplemar."

Suddenly something came over Alice and she felt quite clever at being able to think of it. "Wait, if I have my friend help you and your researchers, will you revoke Hubert's recall?" She requested. "I feel as though it's a fair trade if you consider how this information will help your country, President Paradine."

He shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't do that with just a little information not help the investigation along. If I'm to allow Hubert Oswell to remain in Lhant, you'll have to solve our problem all together."

"Very well, then." Alice concluded, "I'll just have to take my friend to the valkines cryas and see for ourselves what the problem is. Where is Duplemar located?" She asked afterwards as she leaned against the desk.

Paradine placed his hands on his hips, "Out the west gate in the desert." He informed, "It's a dead end path so you'll eventually reach the investigation site." He began writing on a form, "How many are in your party?" Alice listed names in her head and came up with the number six. "Already, this is an ID you can use to pardon yourself into the site. Good luck, little Princess."

"Thank you, President Paradine." Alice bowed to the ruler of Strahta before turning and walking out the door. She was immediately flocked by her companions and she sighed. "Well, I have good news a bad news… Good news is, he was interested in what I had to say but the bad news is that he won't allow Hubert to stay unless we fix their valkines cryas problem."

Pascal spun around in her glee and even Captain Malik and Cheria seemed relieved that the meeting had gone well. Asbel thanked Pascal shortly, glad that he would be able to help his younger brother out of his predicament. "No problem! I really want to see their valkines cryas! So… where is it anyway?"

The princess told Pascal and Captain Malik proposed that they leave immediately, leading the way outside with Alice at his heels. Although Alice managed to get the president to see things her way and compromise with the Hubert situation, she still felt the need to have someone strong nearby such as the Captain or Asbel. After all, she needed someone to fall back on should the going get tough.

* * *

**This is a pretty short chapter, I know. But I was looking through a playthrough of the game and found that this is the most natural place to stop without a chapter's ending feeling strange and abnormal. With a new wave of people favoriting this story and following me as an author, I felt motivated to get the next chapter out. Hopefully another chapter will come out soon! **

**~With Love, PorcelainWhiteRoses**


	24. Eleth Heating Disorder

As they left the capital of Strahta, the group suddenly felt hot but none of them had a single bead of sweat forming on their body. Asbel moaned, "It's so hot…" He began, "But I don't have any sweat." He added as he felt his forehead. Pascal began to make groaning noises but sounded as if she was saying something. Cheria requested that she repeat what she said into her ear.

"I see…" Cheria sighed and looked to the others, "Pascal says it's too hot to talk and that the reason we're not sweating is because of Duplemar. It apparently absorbs all the water eleth from the air so it's pretty normal." She turned to Alice, "Princess, are you alright?"

Asbel turned his attention to the princess who had leaned herself up against the rock wall that was nearby. A small amount of shade protected her from the heat but she still didn't answer Cheria's question probably for the same reason Pascal had for her silence. "Captain, wait!" He called to Malik who hadn't realized the princess had fallen back. "Something's wrong with Alice."

Malik turned and approached the princess and Asbel quickly as he knelt down beside her. "How could I have forgotten…?" He growled as he adjusted himself so that he protected her from the harsh sunlight. Sophie prompted him to explain what he had forgotten. "Well, since she was little her body couldn't adjust to changes in body temperature very well. I'm surprised she's actually made it this far. I guess the lack of water eleth really hurt her."

"She's being hurt?" Sophie wondered aloud, "Why is she hurt?"

Thinking of a better way to explain it, Cheria turned to Sophie. "Well, Alice is used to the nice cooler temperature in Windor that she grew up with. But since it's really hot here, her body can't cool down fast enough without water eleth. Do you understand that, Sophie?" The young girl nodded. "So Captain, how are we going to get her through the desert?"

He stopped and thought for a moment as he searched for a way to get Alice to Duplemar without her body going into a worse state. "Well there will be monsters along the way without a doubt and although she's still conscious, she's in no condition to fight. It's possible that we could just push on through but she'd need to have shade or at least some way to cool her down." He tried to help Alice onto her feet, "Can you walk?"

Alice nodded and Malik took her fan from her pocket and handed it to her. "If you continuously fan yourself, you should be okay. Unless you want to stay in Yu Liberte; it would be safer if you remained at the inn for now." But Alice shook her head and took the fan, beating it through the air in front of her face. "Alright, it's your choice."

The Captain turned and began walking, Alice making an attempt to follow but fell forward as her legs collapsed beneath her. Asbel immediately rushed to her and placed a hand on her back, "Alright, you need to take it easy, Alice." He glanced up at Captain Malik. "Captain, she can't walk on her own. I'll have to carry her."

Malik nodded and Asbel bent down in front of Alice, his back turned to her. "Grab on, Alice." He prompted. The princess wrapped her arms around his neck and Asbel stood, holding onto her legs to keep her on his back. "We need to move fast. If Duplemar is absorbing all the water eleth, then it should all be near it, right?" Pascal nodded and the group began moving in the direction they had been instructed by President Paradine.

* * *

They finally came to the investigation site and a soldier approached them, asking for proof of permission to pass into the area. Alice; who was still on Asbel's bag reached into her pocket and filled out the form and handed it to Asbel who presented it to the soldier. "Ah, my apologies. You may continue. The valkines lies towards the back."

As they went further into the site, Alice fidgeted and cleared her throat. "Asbel, you can put me down now." He set her on her feet and turned to her. "The water eleth is in the air here so I should be fine now. Thank you for carrying me."

Asbel shrugged, "Eh, you're not heavy." He smiled as they continued onwards to find the path obstructed by fallen debris. "Looks like we're going to have to walk around the long way then." He pointed out as he changed direction to the right. "It's much cooler now, isn't it?"

"Hey! I can answer everyone now!" Pascal exclaimed with glee, "It's probably cooler here because of the water eleth hanging around the valkines cryas! That's my guess at least." She darted after the others who continued to move on. "Oh, Alice! Can I talk to you about that condition earlier?" She asked. The princess looked over her shoulder and nodded, slowing her pace to let Pascal catch up to her. "So is there a name for it?"

She thought for a moment, "I'm pretty sure a doctor called it a Heating Eleth Disorder." Alice answered. "The eleth in my body can't heat or cool down my body temperature. Since the eleth is working hard to maintain the standard body temperature, it exhausts my body and I go into the state I was in earlier."

Pascal nodded, "Wow, then I guess you're lucky that you grew up in Windor, right?" She pointed out blatantly. "So what about Fendel, have you ever been there?" Pascal asked, "Its super cold there so I'd imagine it would be hard for you to visit."

"Well, I've never been to Fendel but I'd imagine it's a lot easier to deal with than Strahta's heat waves." Alice responded. Pascal looked at her funny and prompted her to explain her reasoning. "If you're hot and you're already wearing clothes like these, then you have no way of dealing with it. But if you're cold, you can fix your problem by adding more layers of clothing like a coat or jacket. But if you were asking if the cold would affect me in a similar way then yes, it would."

They continued walking along a fixed path that directed them to an underground path lit by torches. Pascal seemed to have an interest in them but to Alice, they were just an outdated source of light. She was never one to be interested in olden times so a lot of times she missed the actual value of historical sight while her brother always found them fascinating.

It hadn't taken long for them to finally reach the other side of the debris and the valkines cryas was in sight. "Do you think Lhant will be alright?" Asbel asked worriedly as the thought popped into his head. He hoped that it wouldn't worry Alice too much but it was something that had been eating at him since they left.

Cheria smiled, "I'm sure that Hubert is doing just fine back home. I really don't think there's any reason to be worried." She seemed to have an enormous amount of faith in her old friend's abilities to care for the small town.

"No, that's not what I…" Asbel began.

Alice let out a soft sigh, "What you meant was the threat from my brother, right?" She looked up with a somber look on his face. Asbel had an expression full of sympathy for the younger girl but it was one of his main concerns. "Don't worry, I know. He's a danger to Lhant right now and we only survived last time because Sophie was there to save us again…"

Sophie looked down at her feet then to Asbel, "Is Richard still our friend?" She asked. "He keeps trying to hurt everyone…. Why?" She seemed even more baffled by the turned king than anyone else in the group.

"Of course he's still our friend!" Asbel exclaimed, "This is some kind of trouble that he can't handle by himself so I'll always be there by his side to help him." He explained, causing Alice to smile at his words. She was glad that no matter what, Richard always had a loyal friend like Asbel who would never hate him. Sophie agreed to stick by Richard despite her confusion as did Alice and Pascal.

However, Cheria looked away from the group. "You know, Asbel… Richard's put us through a lot and I just want you to know that I…" She sighed, "That if you're willing to stick around for him, then so will I."

As they came inside the area in which Duplemar stood, Pascal's eyes went wide with amazement. "I can't believe I'm actually standing here in Strahta in front of Duplemar!" She exclaimed. "Never in a million-zillion years did I think I would ever see it!" Pascal seemed absolutely ecstatic about the site of the enormous valkines cryas. Even Alice found it quite impressive despite seeing a valkines every day in Barona.

Alice took a closer look at the valkines cryas and her face twisted in disgust. The cryas was a gross looking dark purple and light blue with the colors mingling in the center of the valkines. "It looks so… Sickly." She pointed out with such a low level of enthusiasm that she sounded depressed compared to Pascal's eccentric tone.

Pascal rushed towards the side of Duplemar while a researcher approached the group. Asbel bowed to him as did the researcher, "We've been sent by President Paradine to investigate the problem with the valkines cryas." He gestured back to Alice who wasn't paying attention at all. "The princess of Windor has come to aid this country in a time of need." He cleared his throat for Alice to pay attention to what was going on.

"May we begin investigating Duplemar?" Alice requested, now giving her full attention to Asbel and the researcher he was speaking with. The man gestured to the valkines in an invite to investigate as they pleased and she approached Duplemar carefully, placing a hand on the solid cryas. "It feels strange… Gloandi is nothing like this…"

Meanwhile, Pascal was a few feet to the right of Alice and bent down by an exposed piece of the valkines base. "Oh, I see what's wrong!" She exclaimed, "This piece right here is broken so it's all exposed and is interfering with the way it's supposed to be working." She straightened up a stood back as she pulled out a strange looking drill and began drilling away at the exposed area.

The researcher looks horrified as Pascal followed up by slamming the area with an enormous hammer that she seemed to pull out of thin air. Suddenly the color in the valkines began to restore itself to a natural blue and the researcher was in absolute awe. "How did you do that!?"

"Well…" Pascal scratched the back of her head. "I was actually winging it so I'm not quite sure what I did. But whatever it was, it looks like it might have done the trick. The eleth is restoring to the valkines." But just then somebody shout about an enemy attack.

* * *

**I feel like I'm being really troll-ish with my really random updates. Haha, well school starts soon and it turns out I actually haven't done any reading whatsoever so it looks like I'll be a little busy. Also, does anyone think that the song Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day perfectly fits Tales of Graces? Or is it just me?**


	25. A Convinient Scapegoat

As the dust settled over the area, three enormous birds glided into the area and riding on the back of the center creature was a very familiar face. Alice stepped forward and looked up at her brother anxiously. "Brother! What are you doing here?!" She asked. However, she had a feeling that it would have something to do with the valkines. He would want to exact revenge on Strahta for taking away Lhant.

Asbel ran towards Richard as he remained silent but the king immediately took out his blade and shot a beam down towards Asbel. Luckily, he managed to jump to the side as Richard's attack hit where Asbel had been standing not even a second ago. Sophie rushed to his side and stood in front of him, "Stop!" She commanded. But a wash of confusion came over her, "No… I can't fight my friend…" She muttered to herself.

Richard glared down at Sophie and immediately sent two of the creatures flying down to them as the third carried him towards the valkines cryas. His sister immediately jumped away from the two beasts and looked in the direction of her brother. She took like to think about what she should do; she could help fight or try to talk to her brother.

She watched as he touched his blade to the valkines cryas and saw eleth emanating from the valkines, up the sword, and into Richard's body. Alice darted out of the danger of the winged creatures and found a wooden structure with a ladder built onto it in the corner of the site. Using all her strength, Alice pulled the wheeled ladder towards the valkines and looked up where Richard was.

He didn't seem to notice his sister climbing up the stand until she had finally reached the platform. Alice steadied herself and looked down nervously at the extreme distance she had from the ground. "Brother!" She shouted at him, "Stop this-"

"No…" Richard growled, cutting off his sister as she spoke. "Don't you _ever_ call me your brother." Alice began to protest but he whipped around, stopping the absorption from the valkines cryas to face her. "You have turned on me along with every other person that I ever considered close to me."

Alice shook her head, "No, that's not true, brother!"

Suddenly he took a step closer, "I don't you to never call me that again, Alice!" He shouted, causing Alice to shrink back. "Everyone that has ever done m wrong; Archduke Cedric, Lhant, Strahta, and even Asbel has done me wrong…. How dare you shed a single tear for them! Everything I've ever done for you has gone without thanks from you."

As Alice took herself a step forward, she held a hand out towards her older brother. "Please, bro- I mean… Please, Richard." She began, "I've always been grateful for everything you've done for me; you're the reason I'm actually still alive."

"Biggest mistake of my life." Richard muttered to himself but loud enough that he caused Alice to go silent. "Now listen carefully; the only reason you're still princess of Windor is because I need someone to take the blame for everything." When she didn't seem to understand, he sighed. "Think about it; two siblings that have been close their whole life. One attacks an opposing country while the other is visiting to investigate the valkines? Seems pretty convenient to me."

She didn't want to believe what Richard was telling her and she was focusing so hard on what he was telling her that she hadn't realized the others had finished their fight with the creatures. Richard stepped closer to Alice as she took a few steps away. He stepped off the back of the creature and onto the platform with Alice who was now at the edge. "Princess!" Malik called up to her, "Jump down, I'll catch you!"

Alice looked over her shoulder at the Captain and as Richard was practically right in front of her when she turned and jumped off the platform. Just as she jumped, Richard darted forward, grabbing the back of her shirt and throwing her onto the other side of the platform. "You're not getting away this time. You'll pay for turning on me."

He reached down, grabbing the front of her shirt and pulled her up onto her feet, sheathing his blade. Richard raised his fingers to the pendant on Alice's necklace and grinned, "You still have this old thing?" The king slowly pulled Alice towards the edge so she was dangling over the ground which was nearly thirty feet below.

The princess waved her legs, trying to get her feet back onto the platform but instead made it difficult for Richard to keep a hold on her. "Please, Richard… Stop this, let me down! I'm so sorry; I'll do whatever you want! Just let me stay with you, I can't lose you!"

Richard pulled her back over the platform and dropped her where she had been before. "Oh, Alice… You know I would never hurt you. In the past fifteen years of my life nothing has meant more to me than you do." Suddenly a sickly grin formed on Richard's lips. "Those fifteen minutes are over." He finished as he picked her back up and immediately whipped her across the area.

Alice slammed into the wall at an alarming speed and fell to the ground. She slowly pushed herself up as the others were frozen in complete horror. Once she had gotten onto one knee, she looked up to see Richard pointing his sword down at her, a beam of light starting up at the hilt. Just then, a beam of light shot from the sword and all Alice could to was just roll but of the way.

The beam impacted right in front of Alice and sent her straight through the wall she was against and onto the sand just outside the site. Richard jumped onto the back of the bird-like creature and pushed away the ladder on wheels away from him. Cheria raced over to the limp girl who remained unmoving after the blast from Richard.

Richard had returned to absorbing the eleth from the valkines cryas and Asbel glared up at his old friend. "What are you trying to accomplish, Richard?" He shouted at the king as he grinned down at the group.

The researchers fumbled over the readings on a machine attached to the valkines cryas and frantically pressed buttons. "I don't believe this but he's draining the valkines cryas dry of all its eleth." He exclaimed. "There's nothing left! It's all gone!"

The king looked down at everyone with absolutely disgust on his face. "Even the sight of all of your faces makes me sick." He growled with a side glance at Alice who had Cheria by her side, checking for a pulse. Richard seemed to be talking to Sophie as he moved his weapon from the valkines. "We shall never know peace… As long as you still live. I will end this someday so you better be prepared." Richard sheathed his sword and the bird ascended into the sky and flew off at an alarming rate.

Malik put his bladering away, "He's gone." He muttered as he turned to look in Cheria and Alice's direction. "But the princess has been injured." They raced over to her and knelt down around her, none daring to move her. "Cheria, have you tried healing her?" Malik asked. She shook her head and held her hands over Alice's body.

A warm light formed around Cheria's hands and it wrapped around Alice's body. But just as it touched her skin the princess started writhing and screaming in pain. Pascal immediately jumped forward and pushed Cheria back, trying to stop the healing magic. "Wait, don't do that!" As the light faded, Pascal pressed two fingers to Alice's neck to make sure she was still alive. "Richard absorbed a lot of eleth before attacking Alice; it's likely her body absorbed a large amount."

"But don't people already have eleth inside their bodies?" Asbel wondered, "It's what all of us are made out of." He looked down at Alice who had gone from animated to limp once again on the ground.

Pascal shook her head, "Yes, but the amount of eleth in our bodies is the perfect amount. So if the amount of eleth rises and falls drastically, then your body will react by working hard to return the amount to normal." She sighed, "Which means that if you try to heal her, her body will be trying too hard to work out the extra eleth and it will begin to hurt her."

The Captain and Asbel checked Alice for any signs of broken bones and luckily found nothing. Malik bent down and scooped her up carefully in his arms and slowly stood up along with the others. "Well, is we walk back to Yu Liberte, her body will be working to cool her down as well as get rid of the extra eleth. I say we take a Turtlez escort back."

Asbel nodded, "We've saved enough money to spare some to get back to Yu Liberte. I say we do that." As he moved to talk to a nearby Turtlez escort, Pascal spoke with a researcher about what they should do. However, even Pascal couldn't figure out what to do in order to restore all the eleth back to the valkines.

Once Asbel secured them two Turtlez, they all left the site to the entrance where the escort waited for them. Malik gently set Alice across the seat opposite of him and Pascal while the others rode in the second Turtlez escort as they began to make their way back towards Yu Liberte. Asbel let out a long sigh, "Richard… Why are you doing this...?"

* * *

**This will probably be my last update for awhile because school starts in one week from tomorrow so I need to finish summer reading and a bunch of other stuff i didn't do over summer. Aw well. Also, I plan on doing the entire visit to the beach scenario fro mthe game but want to know if yo uguys think I should do it before we move into the Future Arc so we'll have Richard or before like the traditional scene? Majority rule.**


	26. The Princess's Speech

They had arrived at inn yesterday afternoon and with it now being halfway through the day, Alice was finally coming around. Her eyes opened slowly to see Asbel sitting in a chair next to her bed and watched him jump to his feet. "You're awake!" He exclaimed, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Alice are you okay?" He called out to the others who were in a connecting room.

Once everyone was in Alice's room, she forced herself to sit up and immediately had Cheria tell her to take it easy and lay back down. "N-No, Cheria… I'll be okay." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and looked around. "Where are we? What happened to Richard..?" She added with a slight feeling of regret.

"We're in Yu Liberte's inn." Malik answered, "Your brother flew off after completely drained the valkines." Alice flinched as Malik called Richard her brother and he sat down on the bed next to her. "I heard what Richard said about you calling him your brother. Don't think about it too much, alright?" He put his arm around her shoulder, "You're brother isn't himself."

It was almost as if Alice was ignoring the Captain because all she was focusing on was the strange presence next to Pascal. He stepped forward and Alice realized it was Asbel's younger brother, Hubert. "Princess Alice," He began, giving a short bow before remembering her request to be treated normally. "I understand you are young but the people of Strahta strongly demand for you to address them about the situation caused by the king."

Alice nodded, "I guess that would help put them at ease for me to speak to them…" She figured she could at least try to tell people that Richard wasn't in his right mind. "Don't mind my rudeness, Hubert but… Why are you here?"

Hubert adjusted his glasses as he stood in front of Alice, "Orders from President Paradine to accompany Asbel and all of you to Fendel. We figured that's where King Richard is headed as he has already drained Strahta and Windor's valkines cryas." He snapped his fingers above Alice's head, "Look up here." As Alice looked up, he pushed his glasses up his nose as he pushed Alice's eyelids apart, looking into her eyes. "I've never seen something like this!" He exclaimed.

"Even Windor has been drained…?" She couldn't believe that Richard would drain Gloandi. Alice figured that Barona would be in an enormous amount of chaos without the use of the valkines cryas. It was definitely something that troubled her mind.

His brother stepped forward, peering around Hubert's shoulder. "What do you mean?" He strained to see whatever Hubert was seeing but found nothing. "All you're doing is making her eye dry." He replied.

"No, look closely." He gestured to the iris of Alice's eye where a strange green and blue swirl filtered through her light brown eyes. "I'm pretty sure that isn't a normality of her eye color." He mentioned. Hubert moved his hand from Alice's eye after allowing everyone else to get a look. "So this is what Eleth Poisoning looks like…"

Pascal shook her head, "No, it's not Eleth Poisoning, little bro!" She exclaimed as she crossed her arms. "It's just overexposure to eleth. It shouldn't be too harmful but it still isn't great if she already has an Eleth Heating Disorder." Pascal sighed.

Curious, Sophie stepped forward to also get a look at Alice and notice she was looking a little paler than usual. "Cheria, look. She looks like a ghost." Sophie pointed out. "Pascal, will Alice be okay even though she has so much eleth?" Pascal gave her a quick nod.

Hubert placed his hands on his hips, "I don't mean to rush you, Alice but would you mind addressing the public right away? We need to get to Fendel as fast as possible to prevent King Richard from absorbing that valkines as well." He offered his hand to help up the young girl and she graciously took it and steadied herself.

"Alright," Alice began, "I'll address them."

* * *

President Paradine stood in front of a podium at the front of his home and began to explain the situation on a very shallow level of detail. He quickly shifted the topic to Alice and introduced her as she approached the podium on the raised platform. President Paradine took his place behind her on a chair as the much younger girl adjusted the microphone to her height.

Alice took a deep breath, she had never addressed the public without her brother or father but she needed to be strong. She cleared her throat and began. "P-People of Strahta," Her voice was a bit shaky as she gripped the sides of the podium out of nervousness and faintness. "I realize that the sudden appearance of my older brother; King Richard and my presence in Strahta is an unlikely coincidence."

"But please," Alice continued, "My brother is not in his right mind! I've known my brother and this is something he would never do. Ask anyone from Windor and they will tell you that he has always been kind as a prince and this is likely the stress of coming into power during a quarrel with two other nations! I give you my word that I am by no means part of my brother's actions here in Strahta and what he's doing surprises me just as much it does you."

The president made sure Alice was finished and opened the gathering for any questions they might have for the princess. One stood and inquired about why Alice had chosen to leave Windor now as it was a known fact she hardly ever let Barona never mind Windor. She tried to think of the right answer, "It's true I've never been outside of Windor or at least I don't remember leaving my country but this is only due to certain circumstances that are classified information of the royal family of Windor." She answered.

"Listen to you talk!" A man spoke up, startling Alice. "How can you say that anything that relates to this is classified information?! Obviously those circumstances have something to do with the King's actions here and we demand you tell us what said circumstances were!" The crowd agreed in a chorus of cheers and Alice found herself in a corner.

"I-I…" Alice stuttered. She couldn't think of how to address the person but looked back at President Paradine who gave a gesture for her to assert herself. Alice tightened her grip on the podium and stood straight although it pained her to do so. "Whether it concerns you or not, secrets of the Royal Family of Windor are to remain just that; secrets!" She yelled. "The information being concealed is very sensitive and cannot be trusted to the common public of another country!"

Just then an older man spoke up, "Why should we take your word that you have nothing to do with this anyway!?" He shouted. "I've been to Windor and I've spoken with citizens of Barona! Everyone I've talked to has told me time and time again that you and the King of Windor have always been close and never turned against one another so why should we believe you?!"

Alice seemed more angered than nervous now and Captain Malik took notice that what the older fellow had said hit home with her. "Do you really want to know why you should trust me?!" She roared, "My own brother attacked me back at the valkines cryas!" Suddenly the crowd fell silent. "My brother absorbed the eleth in Duplemar and attacked me when I tried to stop him! So do you still want to question me about whether or not I am a trusted ally of Strahta?"

Malik crossed his arms and seemed impressed with Alice assertion. "I've never heard her so enraged." He commented, "Actually, I don't think she's ever been angry." He added. Asbel seemed to agree, noticing that it was indeed the first time anyone had seen her so worked up about something to the point of yelling.

Out of the silence, one woman dared to speak her question to the angered princess. "So, Princess Alice…" She began. The crowd had definitely lost their thunderous personality now that they knew what the situation was. "You say we can trust you and I'm willing to believe you but what do you plan to do about the situation? Do you plan on stopping His Majesty King Richard?"

"My brother has drained both Strahta and Windor's valkines cryas." Alice answered calmly but she looked like she was on the verge of crying. "So this is our reason to believe he would head out to Fendel next to target their valkines cryas. I plan to pursue my older brother and stop him without hurting him. Harming my brother is of course unavoidable but I refuse to believe that the only way to fixing this problem is the death of my brother. Any more questions?"

When the crowd was silent, Alice stepped down shakily from the platform and fell forward as her feet touched the last step. Luckily, Malik was there to catch her and make sure she was okay. "You did a great job, Princess." He praised, "That would have made you father proud if he had been here to see it. Are you alright?"

Alice nodded and smiled up at the Captain once she was steadied. Meanwhile, President Paradine wrapped up the gathering and the crowd began to disperse while soldiers disassembled the platform and podium. Cheria nudged Alice as she noticed a little girl and an older woman approached them. "Excuse me, your highness?"

The princess turned to her and smiled, "Oh, how may I help you?"

"I think what you're doing is very brave of you." The woman began, "You see, I used to live in Windor but came here to live with my grandchildren and I knew you when you were very young. Anyone could tell you were close to your brother and I know that bound would never change. I hope you find a way to return your brother to himself and become an important part of Windor's history; you are incredibly brave."

She kindly thanked her and saw the young girl looking up at her with wide, admiring eyes. Alice reached back and tugged the ribbon out of her hair, letting the wisps of long blonde hair fall over her shoulders. "Here," She handed the ribbon to the young girl, "I'm not going to need to tie my hair up where I'm going and it would look so pretty on you."

The grandmother placed a hand on the young girl's back and prompted her to use her manners. The little girl immediately bowed, "Thank you, Princess Alice!" She exclaimed before running off to play with other children. The grandmother bowed to Alice as well before slowly moving towards a bench to sit down.

"Wow," Hubert muttered to himself under his breath. "Despite circumstances the princess can be so kind to those of a country that had stationed itself in her own territory…" He sighed then spoke up to the others. "We should get moving; time is precious to us." Alice nodded and looked off towards the gate parallel to the one that lead to the valkines.

* * *

**So this time I mean it; no updates on this aprticular story for awhile. But I do have a new fanfiction appearing soon in the Tales of Vesperia crossover section! Please go to my profile page to find an advertisement for World of Hurt, a new original fanfiction! Thank you, everyone for the views!**


	27. Spy on the Line

They had finally boarded the ship after Hubert had spoken to a guard that was waiting for him and his entourage. Alice watched him deal with the lower ranked soldier and silently wondered if Windor's army was anything like this. She had only seen guards who reported directly to a representative of the royal family but never to another soldier.

As usual, Malik escorted Alice up onto the boat and to the front of the ship. It wasn't an enormous ship but it would do for now especially if they were trying to keep a low profile in Fendel. It was a given that they weren't going to enjoy and Lieutenant of Strahta and the Princess of Windor in their territory.

"I see that there's a need to brief everyone about our plans as some were not present during the first explanation." Hubert began. Alice noticed that he was very professional and got straight to the point although he had known many of his company since he was very young. "We have a spy in Warrior's Roost which is our first destination. I must ask that all of us retain a low profile while we're there which means that you, Princess, shall remain in the boat."

She seemed to find the idea somewhat humorous and raised an eyebrow. "You want me to stay in the boat while you get to go explore the island? Not to say that this is just a vacation to me but I'd like to see it for myself as well and not from the bow of the boat." Alice replied.

Malik placed a hand on her shoulder, "No, Hubert's right." He agreed, "You're not in any physical condition to be travelling around an island with people just waiting for a reason to fight. It's dangerous and I doubt you can fend for yourself right now especially with your case of overexposure of eleth." The old man gave her a stern look. "I'd prefer that you'd stay here where it's safe and get some rest."

Alice still wasn't satisfied with Malik and Hubert's preference and shook her head. "I want to take a look around Warrior's Roost." She muttered; the sentence made her seem childish. "How about you act as my escort, Captain Malik?" She suggested. "You've been doing a wonderful job so far; I don't see why not."

He quickly considered all the possibilities of what could happen to Alice if she had gone by herself and ended with the conclusion that his presence could prevent all confrontations. Malik soon realized that it was actually a matter he held no weight in; princess would always trump the knight. The Captain sighed, "I suppose I have no choice but to act as your escort then."

Hubert still wasn't happy with the outcome, "I simply can't approve of a princess entering such a rowdy environment in a weakened physical condition!" He protested. "Princess, I must ask of you to remain here while the rest of us meet with the Strahtan spy. You would attract too much attention if we were to bring you along."

"Then the Captain and I will go off on our own." Alice answered, solving Hubert's problem quickly. "Your only problem now is my condition, right? Well, if anything happens to me, I have the Captain right here." She raised her hand, hitting the Captain's chest with the back of her hand as she shot Hubert a smile.

The other boy wasn't at all amused with Alice's carefree attitude and with a sigh, took out a silk case form his pocket. Inside was a second pair of glasses and he handed them to Alice. "If you insist on going out, at least disguise yourself. You'll need to keep up the farce through Fendel as well." Hubert explained.

Alice took the glasses and placed them on her face. Her vision immediately blurred and there was a slight pain in her temples. She grabbed her head with one and while removing the glasses with the other. "I can't see anything…" Alice muttered. Hubert took them back and quickly broke the lens with his thumbs before handing them back to her.

This time she could see through the frames and actually enjoyed the feeling of having the make-believe glasses. Cheria shook her head, "No, that's not a good enough disguise! Anyone would recognize that long hair and those expensive looking clothes!" She stepped forward with Pascal right behind her. "Turn around, Alice."

The princess did as Cheria ordered and felt a brush tear through her hair, going from the front of her head to the back as Cheria changed Alice's hairstyle. She pulled the mass of hair into a high pinned ponytail then wrapped some of the extra length around the elastic to hide the black string, leaving about a foot of hair still dangling as she placed pins to hold her hair in place.

"She looks so cute!" Pascal exclaimed happily. "Now she just needs different clothes!" She looked to the Captain. "Do you have a white t-shirt you can wear so Alice can have your jacket?" Malik nodded and went into the cabin while the others remained above ground.

Growing up with only a brother, Alice wasn't used to having girls dress her up and try to make her look cute. And in all honesty, she wasn't exactly enjoying all the attention. Alice gave a look to Asbel and seemed to say 'help me' and he caught on. Asbel smirked and let out a short laugh, "It looks cute on you, Alice." He chuckled.

When Malik came back up, he was wearing a plain white t-shirt that looked a little tight on him. It allowed every single muscle and abs to show through the thin fabric and Alice raised an eyebrow as she realized immediately why he had chosen such a shirt. The two boys seemed to have caught on why as well and Asbel shook his head. "Do you really need a muscle shirt to get the message through to people that they don't stand a chance in a brawl?"

The Captain didn't say anything as he took his coat and helped Alice slip her arms through the sleeves. Her arms were much too short and the belts on the jacket were below her waist. "It's just a bit of assurance so that no one even thinks about trying anything with the princess." Malik explained as Cheria pinned up the sleeves a little so that she had use of her hands but found there was nothing she could do about the belts.

Sophie examined Alice closely, "I can barely recognize her…" The girl muttered. "That's strange. She only changed her hair and put on a coat." She seemed genuinely confused by the fact that clothes, hair, and just wearing glasses could make someone look so different.

"Maybe it's the glasses that make her look so much different?" Pascal suggested. "There's nothing we can do about her being a shorty though or her pale skin but it'll have to do." She teased the young princess as the boat slowly pulled into port.

As Alice and Malik stepped off the boat soon after the others, they saw two Fendelian soldiers examining their new weapons. They overheard them saying something about their weapons being able to extract eleth from their cryas in no time at all and that was all Pascal needed to hear. She bounded forward and placed her hands on the weapons. "Can I take a look at your weapons?" Pascal began speaking in technical terms that hardly anyone understood.

"Knock that off and quit bothering us!" On soldier shouted at Pascal before marching up the stairs towards the coliseum. Hubert warned Pascal of being careful to not throw their cover as she went to chase the soldier. "Don't worry; I just want to get a closer look!" She exclaimed before running off as Hubert shook his head.

Malik seemed lost in thought and Alice tugged on his arm, sapping him out of the deep thought. "Captain, is something wrong?" She asked. It wasn't a common thing to see the Captain dazed in such a way and Alice didn't exactly like it when the Captain wasn't all there.

He looked down at her and at the others who had turned to him. "Oh, it's nothing." Malik glanced to Alice again. "Don't worry, princess." Cheria commented about the aggressive feeling to the air hanging around Warrior's Roost and Malik nodded. "Well, this is a place where skilled warriors test their mettle against others for the title of Champion. Battle and power of both law and justice here; there's no such thing as illegal actions."

Cheria suddenly figured out why Malik and Hubert were so reluctant to let Alice go with them and felt horrible to contributing to the disguise that allowed her to come. "So that's the reason why you didn't want her to come…" She muttered softly under her breath. No one heard her but Sophie who had realized it as well.

"Why do people fight for fun?" Sophie asked. It was a question that was hard for any of them to answer and Asbel scratched the back of his head. She saw Asbel was thinking hard about it and waited patiently for his answer.

Asbel sighed, "Some people just like fighting I guess. There are people who like hurting others and there are the majority who have reasons for fighting or don't fight at all." He gestured to the group. "We all have reasons to fight whether we reveal them or not."

Sophie looked down, "What's my reason for fighting…?" Asbel allowed the small girl to ponder her question by herself. As a cloaked man approached the group, Malik stepped in front of Alice out of pure habit. The former Captain was always protective of the princess as she saw the good in everyone and was never fully aware of the dangers around her and this man looked like the average pick-pocket to Malik.

"Are you here for the Fendelian spy?" The bandit asked. Hubert nodded his reply and was handed an envelope with a red seal. "She asked me to give this to whoever came for her to relay her discoveries." The man said before walking back up the stairs towards the coliseum. Malik seemed to relax a little and allowed Alice to step beside him.

The blue-haired boy examined the envelope before opening it. His expression darkened as he sighed and folded up the letter again. "It seems we'll need a new plan. Our spy has been contained by the Fendelian army who has grown suspicious of her."

Suddenly Pascal came racing down the stairs with two soldiers on her heels. The girl bumped into Alice and the princess had to raise a hand to keep the glasses on her face. Sophie stood in front of Pascal and Alice protectively as the guards came closer and punched away on of them. The others joined Sophie in front of Alice and Pascal, "What do you want?" Asbel growled.

One soldier stepped forward, "This woman is trying to steal our weapons!" He exclaimed as the other guard pushed himself back up. Pascal protested that all she was doing was looking at them and wouldn't take them. Then a man who looked like he was of high status stepped down the stairs and walked between the two guards, "Do we have a couple of troublemakers?" He continued, "My guess is that you're friends of that little spy, correct?"

Hubert approached the three Fendelian soldiers with his arms crossed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't place such horrid accusations upon me and my companions." He adjusted his glasses. "We're here to simply challenge the champion of Riot Peak and nothing more."

The high-ranked soldier didn't seem to be buying into the farce Hubert had put up and grinned. "Well, then I suppose you won't have any objections to us being your first opponents? I'd also like to propose a wager on the life of that spy; you win, she's free to go. But if we win; which we will, you shall tell us everything we want to know regardless of sensitivity." Hubert agreed and the man scoffed before leading his soldiers up to the coliseum.

"Well, seeing as though that spy's our only way into Fendel… We'll need to save her if we want to accomplish our goals before King Richard reaches Fendel's valkines." Hubert explained as he turned around to the others. "Let's get going to Riot Peak."

* * *

**Wow everyone, so sorry for such a long absense with this fanfic. For now, it will continue for this week and you'll probably get one or two more chapters by next Monday. However, I just imported a copy of Vesperia for the PS3 and it should arrive next week so I may become inactive with all fanfics except for the one I have previewed on my profile!**


	28. The Reality of the World

The majority of the group had set off towards the coliseum while the idea of watching people fight was quite boring to Alice. She and Captain Malik decided to look around Warrior's Roost instead and began their exploration with the bar. Malik read a sign and sighed, "No minors allowed…" He muttered. "Looks like I won't be getting a cold one."

Alice shook her head, "No, you can go in a get one if you'd like." She said. "Don't let me ruin your fun; at least get one for the road. I'd prefer if you'd had time to enjoy yourself." The princess seemed sincere and not at all scared of being by herself.

He remained silent for a moment, staring at the princess with doubt in his eyes but slowly, the hard face broke. "I'll be fast." Malik wasn't normally one to leave the princess unprotected but the bar was just so inviting and he hadn't had a drink since before Wallbridge. "Please, stay right here and don't talk to anyone. Stay close to the wall and just make yourself unnoticed."

The princess nodded and stepped back towards the bar as Malik went inside, keeping an eye on her until the last moment before he disappeared inside. Now alone, Alice's eyes darted from person to person and suddenly, they all became dangerous people to her. She felt herself becoming a little chilly and hugged the Captain's coat around her body as she leaned against the wall.

Only a few minutes after Malik had gone inside, a trio of swordsmen trotted down the stairs with wide grins on their face. They shouted loudly about their recent spars in the tournament and stopped just in front of the docks. One of them kept stealing glances at the bar while the other two continued their loud droning.

Just then the soldier with darting eyes fixated his gaze on the princess and smirked, nudging the other two with his elbow. They muttered to each other in hushed tones and Alice attempted to make herself look bigger and stronger by bunching on the coat in a way that made it appear as if it fit her right and pushed her glasses up her nose while mimicking Hubert's usual scowl.

"Well, boys…"One man began with a wide grin as he approached Alice with his two friends. "It seems we've got a lost little kitten in a lawless territory." She could smell a strong aroma of alcohol on the men as if they had gone into the coliseum already intoxicated. "You know it's dangerous here at the Roost? Little girls like you could get hurt." His hands tapped the hilt of his sword.

Alice kept up the strong act as the other two joined in. "So what's such a beautiful little girl like you doing in such a horrid place?" One began, "And that scowl is just oh-so harsh. Lighten up that pretty little face." The other finished as he reached out and grabbed the princess's chin, tilting it up towards him as he was now only inches away.

The strength faded from Alice; he eyes went soft as they filled with terror and tears and the coat fell past her knees once again. Her knees moved together as she shook uncontrollably in the grasp of the strange intoxicated man. She couldn't do anything; not a cry for help, a quick maneuver to get away, she couldn't even answer the people talking to her. All she did was allow a small squeak emit from her as the man's grip tightened.

"Aw look, she's shaking!" The man placed his free had on her back as she arched away from him and he pulled her closer to him while still holding onto her chin. "We can fix that you know?" A second man pulled out a small dagger and held it to her face as Alice felt her stomach turn in the absolute fear. "A dead girl can't shake, right?" He pressed the dagger closer to her, the blade touching her face when suddenly there the man with the dagger was thrown into the water and the second was kicked in after his friend.

Alice didn't even see what had happened as she staggered back while a blur of white chased off the third man. Her vision focused again as two firm hands planted themselves on her shoulders. She immediately tried to push away whoever was in front of her but the person persisted, shaking her. "Princess, it's me! It's Malik!" He shouted.

She stopped her struggled and looked up to see the familiar face of the Captain. Alice sighed and leaned into Malik and allowed herself to relax, "Malik, thank you." She muttered, "You and Hubert were right; I should've stayed on the boat."

Malik hugged the young princess briefly before turning towards the stairs and grabbing a bottle off the ground, shaking it as they walked. "Either way I'll be here to make sure nothing happens to you." He assured her kindly. "Let's go join the others at the coliseum; I've had enough of a thrill for the day."

"If you call that a thrill then something is horribly wrong with you…" Alice replied with a short laugh as she grabbed onto Malik's hand as the two walked up towards the coliseum together. The passing tournament participators didn't even think about confronting Alice with a man as intimidating as Malik at her side.

As they came towards the coliseum, Alice's jaw dropped in awe of its size. The coliseum was nothing like she had imagined; it was completely made of stone and looked worn down from years of use. People poured in and out of the arena; many of which had scrapes and bruises all over their body. Malik kept Alice near him so pick pockets wouldn't get close enough without Malik seeing them as they stopped in front of the building.

They entered the arena and looked around to see Pascal, Cheria, and the others sitting in the stands to their right. Alice and Malik slipped past the crowd of rowdy people, the Captain's grip nearly crushing Alice's hand as he was careful to not lose her. Once they reached the other, Malik let go of the princess and she sat between Hubert and Cheria where a space had been left.

Alice looked around quickly, "Sophie," She looked behind her where Sophie was sitting beside the Captain. "Where's Asbel?" Alice asked. She noticed that the auburn haired boy was nonexistent in their group.

"He's in the tournament;" Sophie answered, "Only one person can enter so he said he'd go and save that spy girl." She seemed worried about Asbel taking on the tournament himself but then again; rules were rules.

She was just about to quell Sophie's fears when Hubert cleared his throat and muttered Alice's name, getting her full attention immediately. It was a strange relationship that the two had; Alice would always look at Hubert with eyes full of admiration. However, it seemed that Hubert only saw her as the princess of Windor and it was only reason he was never rude to her. "Do you mind if I ask you about the situation up until now?"

Cheria leaned forward to look across Alice at Hubert, "Hey! What do you think you're doing; that's so cruel to ask her something like that?" She seemed concerned for Alice's mental health and figured if Alice had to relay everything to Hubert, she would break down.

"No, it's alright Cheria. I really don't mind; Hubert has a right to know." Alice took a deep breath and starred down at the battle in the tournament. "I think it was a month ago that Richard and I had been poisoned by my Uncle Cedric. We were chased from our castle into the catacombs where we luckily found Asbel and Sophie before things got bad."

The lieutenant of Strahta seemed appalled that Archduke Cedric would ever poison his own family. "He was punished correctly though I presume?" When Alice shook her head, his eyes narrowed and he had a look of anger. "So that worm still lives?" Alice gave the same response, "I'm afraid I don't follow."

Alice looked at Hubert, "Richard… He killed Cedric." She muttered quietly. "Prior to that, Richard hadn't been acting himself. He snapped at Sophie when she touched him, yelled at Asbel, and even went to attack me…" Alice seemed troubled, "It hurt seeing him like that and what killed me the most was leaving him in the time he needed me most…"

"So all of that coupled with the fact you now have a case of overexposure to eleth?" Hubert saw Alice's nodding of her head and he gazed out over the arena. "That's tough but such is life. You need to press through the rough patches and just hope there's a way to sew it up. I'll give you one thing though; you're brave to stand up to your brother."

She found him a little humorous with that statement. "I'm either brave or suicidal. All I know if that I'm doing him more harm than good by leaving him be at a time like this." Alice sighed, "If there's a way to bring my brother back to me, then I'll damn sure find what that way is and get my entire life back."

Hubert went to question Alice further but Malik grabbed his shoulder. When the young man looked at the Captain, he shook his head and pointed to Alice's hands. Her hands were gripping the edge of the stand and shaking uncontrollably as she was forced to remember those horrible events that had led her here.

For the first time Hubert realized that Alice truly did care about Richard and that no matter what, there was nothing that could make her leave his side. The King had horrified, injured, and mentally scarred his younger sister but she would always come running back to him. It wasn't an endearing character trait, but something that could get her killed one day.

* * *

**Little fun fact; I've had this scene planned out forever. Anyways; glad to finally make some progress with this and maybe dive deeper into the relationship that Hubert and Alice share. Many people seem to be very curious about their relationship; some believe its love while others think its just plain friendship. I also realized how much I've neglected the female characters... Wow; I'm sexist despite being a girl myself.**


	29. Now Arriving at Fendel

The tournament had ended with a victory for Asbel and as promised, the spy from Strahta was released to Asbel and the others. Now they were at the boarding dock; the boys were with the spy while the girls wandered around the close area, examining all kinds of people as they walked by. Alice noticed the group of soldiers that had taken the spy hostage in the first place and chuckled at their beaten appearance.

Suddenly a deep voice called out the girls' names and Alice looked over to see Malik waving his hand for them to come over. "We're departing for Fendel right now." He watched the spy board the ship as their new escort before following her with Alice right behind him. "She's our guide to the continent so she won't be around for too long." He told her as they went to the front of the ship.

There was a low rumbling sound and Alice hugged her stomach with a harsh grin. She saw that she was unintentionally worrying Asbel so she straightened up. "Just hunger pains." Alice laughed slightly, "In case you forgot, while you go to eat before we left Strahta, I haven't eaten since we took the boat to Oul Raye."

Cheria got up from her seat as the boat began moving, "I'll go down to the ship's kitchen and see if I can find something for you to eat." She remembered that Alice hated fish and kept that in mind as she disappeared down a flight of stairs.

"So how is the princess feeling?" Pascal wondered in her usual happy-go-lucky tone. "You shouldn't overexert yourself with such a horrible case." She gestured for Alice to take off the glasses as Pascal examined her eyes. "You still have the eleth in you irises… It'll take a while for your body to get rid of all the eleth."

Alice kept the glasses off; hooking them on Malik's coat she had on and released her hair from the elastic. The young girl shook her head to get her hair to fall down on her shoulders and began taking off the coat. "You should keep that." Malik advised, "Fendel's terribly cold and you'll need all the extra clothing you can get. You're already so small; you'd be dead if you didn't keep it."

She wasn't sure if she should say thank you or to be horrified that he told her she was going to die otherwise. Instead Alice said nothing to the old Captain and looked at Pascal who looked sick to her stomach. The girl ran to the edge of the boat and Alice switched her focus to a worried looking Asbel. "Honestly, Asbel. If something's bothering you it's better that you just come out with it and say what's on your mind."

Asbel seemed shocked as Alice called him out on him being lost in his thoughts and the young man sighed. "I'm just thinking that's all." He replied as he took a seat next to Sophie at the table. Alice persisted and sat on the other side of Asbel. "Really, princess. It's nothing you need to worry yourself about."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Alice growled in a friendly way. "I let it slide with the Captain because it's what he's accustomed to but…" She smiled, "I remember when we were younger; you never called me the princess." The young girl laughed quietly as Asbel's hard expression cracked. "So come on, spill."

He tapped his fingers against the glass table as he gathered his thoughts. "It's just about Richard; I know that we can't do anything without attacking him but if we have to go further than that… Alice, I don't know if I would ever be able to do that." Asbel's eyes were full of sadness and he took a deep breath.

"'From now on no matter what happens…'" Alice began in a quiet tone. Asbel and Sophie both gave her strange looks as her words appeared to be random. "'The four of us will always be friends'." She looked up at both of them from her hands with a smile. "We made that pact at Lhant Hill seven years ago. Don't tell me you've forgotten, Asbel."

Sophie immediately straightened, "I remember! Right after Bryce attacked us and we came back up from the beach! We all wrote our names on the tree so we would be friends forever!" The young girl was definitely happy about the memory.

Alice nodded, "That's right, Sophie!" She gave a stern look at Asbel. "Key point her Asbel is 'no matter what happens the four of us will always be friends'." The princess pointed out. "We'll find a way to bring Richard back to us and when we do everything will go back to normal."

He couldn't help but admire Alice's brave front and he reached over, placing his hand on her head and ruffled the blonde hair. "You're right." Asbel smiled, "I can't give up on him; we've made a promise to stay together no matter what happens."

She pushed Asbel's hand off her head as she fixed her hair and a plate was set in front of her. Alice glanced over to see Cheria with a smile and apologized that it was the only food she could find in the pantry. It was a turkey and cheese sandwich, something Alice had actually never had in the comfort of her castle.

The princess thanked Cheri a as she took a small bite and felt Malik place a hand on her back. "Once you've finished your dinner, I'd advise you head off to bed. Pascal has already turned in for the night." Alice looked up at the sky to find it near pitch black; the only light coming from the full moon's glow.

"Alright, Captain." Alice replied. She knew that Malik was tired and he wouldn't go to sleep until he knew Alice was asleep in her cabin with the other girls. Hubert had disappeared from the boat and Alice figured he had gone down to the boys' room to catch some much needed rest.

Alice finished the sandwich in a matter of minutes; she hadn't realized how hungry she was until she actually had the food in front of her. Once the princess had finished a glass of water, she stood up and turned to Malik. "I think I'll go to bed now…" She turned around to the others to say goodnight before going inside the boat.

It was the next morning when Alice sat up in her bed, the light filtering through the porthole at the side of the room. She looked over to see the other three beds empty and on one bed the sheets were tossed around haphazardly; Alice assumed it was Pascal's bed. Alice got out of bed, changing into her clothes that had been cleaned earlier in the morning and went outside.

The harsh cold hair hit Alice immediately and hugged the freshly washed coat close to her as the biting air attacked her skin. She hadn't even taken three steps when Hubert stopped her and gestured her head up by snapping in the air above her. "Eyes up here." He dictated and pushed her eyelids open. "It's faded."

"It's gone?" Alice wiggled her head away from Hubert as he released her eyelids and she rubbed them lightly. "Guess all I needed was some sleep." The blue-haired boy agreed and the two joined the others at the front of the boat. Alice noticed that Hubert was shivering and she realized that since he was more adjusted to hot climates he wouldn't fare well in the current weather. "Are you cold?"

Hubert looked down at her for a moment, "A bit chilly; Strahtan uniforms are designed for hot climates of the desert rather than the freezing cold of the mountains. However, I'll be fine as long as I have some time to adjust to the temperature." He explained in a neutral tone. Asbel was standing to the side with Cheria and noticed that Hubert spoke with Alice on the same level as he talked down towards everyone else.

Cheria seemed to take notice as well and laughed to herself. "Don't you love how much power a little kid can have over an older military lieutenant of another country?" She whispered to Asbel. "If you ask me, it keeps his attitude in check."

The Captain had overheard their gossip and nodded. "Hubert sure is the sharp type of character but regardless of the fact he's of Strahtan now, he still has to mind his manners with Alice." He then considered how Hubert recently ordered Alice to tilt her head up by snapping his fingers at her.

Asbel shook his head. "I don't know but he was pretty quick to snap at her to get her to look up." He sighed as he leaned over the railing. "He still hasn't forgotten the time seven years ago when we all became friends. So I think Hubert knows that he has some freedom when it comes to Alice."

Fendel's port was coming up fast and Alice rushed the front railing to see the foreign continent as they slowed pace into the docks. The young girl was in awe at the beauty of the white snow; it was something she never recalled seeing. Windor had a perfectly cool temperature year round so snow was never existent in Windor.

"Captain Malik!" Alice exclaimed, bounding from one side of the ship to the other where Malik stood in the same t-shirt and a lighter coat. "Have you ever been to Fendel?" She asked curiously. When he nodded, she seemed even more thrilled. "So what's it like? Having snow all year round must be so…" She suddenly sneezed with a small squeak noise; pinching her nose in the process.

Malik seemingly ignored Alice's question as he pulled the coat back up over her shoulders. "In all reality, Fendel isn't that exciting. I'm sorry princess but I fear you won't be very entertained with its capital like you were in Barona or Yu Liberte."

Pascal approached the others from the back of the boat just then carrying the glasses Alice had worn along with her hair elastic. "You should probably get back into disguise, right? Fendel sure hates Windor and the last thing we need is to give them a reason to attack."

* * *

**Oh my there certainly have been a lot of updates, hasn't there? I'm happy to tell everyone that they should get used to the abundance of updates. I have a new fanfiction premierin soon; most likely by the middle of next week! This fanfiction might die down a little but I will always try to get in an update each week for you guys! Thank you for reading~!**

**P.S) I realized I made a mistake in the second chapter. I said there were only three during the pact making and there were actually four xD My bad. Once the fanfic reaches its end I'll go back a fix everything.**


	30. The Kindhearted Princess

"We haven't been able to pinpoint an exact location on Fendel's valkines cryas but I suspect that it's located nearby the capital of Zavhert." The spy explained as Hubert met her by the road's beginning. "Sadly, the capital is actually nowhere near our current location. Velanik is the closest town; I suggest you go there as a first stop."

Hubert nodded, thanking the girl as she returned to the boat and he turned to everyone else. "Well, it looks like we won't be able to reach Zavhert as quickly as I had hoped. Velanik is our new destination." He explained to those who weren't close enough to listen in on the conversation with their spy.

The Captain nodded and followed the others towards the back of the group with Asbel. Alice had decided to leave the Captain's side for the time being and joined Pascal, huddling close to keep warm. Although since both the girls were fairly small, one could imagine the small amount of heat they gave off.

Cheria and Sophie were towards the very front of the group where Hubert was as he leaded the way towards Velanik. Silently, the princess wondered what the town would be like and if it was anything like Lhant or Gralesyde. She was always curious to see what it was like in other countries and no far, Fendel wasn't suited for her.

They soon came to a fork in the road and a worn down sign pointed in two different directions; one read Velanik while the other said Lhant. Excitement immediately washed over Alice, "Captain, that sign says Lhant. Do you think we could get back to Windor and see how things are going in there?" She asked.

"We could get out but I don't think we'd be able to get back into Fendel without taking another boat." Asbel interrupted, "I don't want to take my chances with the Fendelian army anyways. Huh? What's this?" There was a piece of paper nailed to the sign post underneath the two signs and had a picture of a bird-like creature.

Alice leaned over and read the notice along with Asbel. "Wanted: Strahteme Horns." She looked around to the others. "What's a Strahteme?" She asked. When none of them could answer her question, Asbel turned away from the sign.

Hubert crossed his arms, "Whatever it is they're valuable to the people in Velanik." He adjusted his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We should gather some for a profit. It will definitely benefit us in some way by doing so." The others agreed and they began walking off towards Velanik.

As they followed the snow-trodden path there was a rustling in the frozen bushes not too far away. Captain Malik was the first one to retrieve his weapon as he took his place at the front of the group. Out from the bushes came two golden birds with red tipped wings and enormous horns protruding from their forehead.

The horns on their heads had a swirling motion to the color inside of it and Hubert recognized it as the same swirl that Alice's irises contained during the period of time she had been infected by the abundance in eleth. "I take it that's a Strahteme?" He questioned, prompting the others to either agree or disagree.

No one had any better idea as to what it was and they prepared themselves. Alice realized that it would be difficult to fight with such a heavy jacket on and decided to toss it off onto the ground. The Captain looked back at her with a growl, "Princess, put the coat back on, you'll freeze to death with that condition of yours!" He ordered.

She shook her head as she ran at one of the Strahteme, "I can move fast enough with that damn coat!" Alice protested. "As long as I keep moving, I'll be able to stay warm. I'll put the coat on after we're done!" She took on the first bird with an uppercut followed by Hubert sending a barrage of bullet's into its body.

The bird crashed back onto the ground, pushing itself back up while the other Strahteme raced towards Sophie. She immediately jumped back and kicked its beak with Cheria following up with a Lightning Blast. Pascal danced around her staff before casted the spell; Wind Blade. The makeshift blade cut through both Strahteme and Asbel managed to knock back one of them, letting the Captain finish him off.

Now that only one Strahteme remained, Alice threw her sword across the area, lodging it into the bird's body and she ran after it to finish off the bird. Just as she reached the creature, it flipped, scratching her face with its talons. Luckily for her, the scratches weren't very deep and barely broke the skin but it was still enough to make it bleed.

Sophie took care of the last one and Alice came over to retrieve her sword. When she grabbed the hilt and tugged it out to chop off the horn. "Aaaachoo!" Alice sneezed, hopping as she startled herself. She sniffed as rubbed her nose, trying to keep it warm as she felt the coat being wrapped around her shoulders. Alice looked up to see Asbel staring down at her.

"Alright, no more taking off your coat." Asbel sighed with a slight humorous tone. He helped Alice slip her arms into the sleeve and tightened the belts around her waist so tightly she could barely breathe. When the boy turned away from her to take the horn from the second Strahteme she loosened the belts to a more comfortable state.

When Asbel took the other horn, he handed it to Alice who had the first one in her hand. She put them deep in her pocket as they turned to everyone else. "So we've got two of the horns; that's bound to get us quite a lot of money for supplies, right?" Hubert agreed but saw the princess hadn't been paying attention as she raced off down the road.

The blue-haired youth looked to the Captain who pointed into Alice's direction where the brown roofs of houses popped up over the tree line. "I suspect her excitement has taken over." With a sigh, Malik began following her with Asbel at his side. "I must apologize for her Highness…" He began speaking to Hubert. "Sometimes she has trouble acting of her age and position."

"Oh come on, Captain." Cheria sighed, "Give her a break. She's only excited to be in another country so different from her own." The girl stood up for Alice as she could understand her excitement as Cheria too had always loved being outside of Lhant.

Pascal skipped along after Alice, "Cheria right, I mean she did spend practically the entire fifteen years of her life in a castle." She looked at the others. "You can't honestly expect her to act her age now can you, old man?"

At first the Captain considered Pascal and Cheria's words but then glanced down at Pascal. "Who are you calling an old man? I'm hardly over forty years old." The Captain protested as they finally caught up to Alice. It hadn't been hard for she had stopped dead in her tracks, the falling snow resting on her hair and shoulders. "Is something wrong princess?"

She turned to look at him, "This is nothing like how I imagine a town of Fendel…" Alice muttered in a depressed tone. "All these homes are hardly houses; they're more so shacks." The princess didn't mean to insult the people but only wanted to make a point that the homes were not sufficient for the temperature.

"Not everyone knows the comfort of a castle." Hubert commented passively as he continued further in the town. The Captain seemed distracted so Sophie approached him, interrupting his deep thoughts. While they spoke, Hubert turned to everyone. "I suggest we go around town to talk to the locals and see if we can get any information on the valkines cryas."

Everyone was ready to follow that plan but Alice had another interest within Velanik. She saw a pair of kids digging around in the dirt by a frozen stream. They had thick and heavy coats with hats made of animal fur. "What are they doing over there?" Alice asked as she glanced up to the Captain. He had a strange sadness in his eyes that Alice had never seen before.

Captain Malik sighed, "They're looking for bits of cryas." He went on to further explain everything. "Most of the pieces are the size of grains of sand. But they need the cryas to heat their stoves and since Fendel has so little cryas reserves, they have to fend for themselves to find the cryas." He explained.

Alice approached the children and sat down beside them. "How are you doing with your search?" She asked sweetly. The princess shifted around some of the dirt to find a glowing piece of cryas, picked it up, and held it out to them.

The little boy took the piece and stuffed it in his pocket. "We're not doing too good…" He replied sadly. "We've hardly found any to supply just one stove! Our family owns the inn so we need enough for the lobby and all the guest rooms."

The princess glanced up to Malik who had the sympathetic look in his eyes. "The small number of cryas reserves is mainly for the nobility so not much gets down here. It's usually only a small amount each month which is never enough for small towns like this." He crossed his arms. "It's just the way Fendel is; turning a blind eye to those who are suffering to serve its nobility."

Alice seemed horrified but Asbel felt the need to chime in. "You see, Barona is the same way but not to an extreme such as this." He continued on. "You may not realize it, Alice but you get first pick from the cryas then nobility like I used to be. The rest is distributed evenly to the civilians but we still never have shortages."

Suddenly, the young girl sneezed and began to shiver. "Brother, I'm cold! When can we go inside?"

The other kid placed a hand on his sister's forehead. "You have a fever. You should go back home and warm up while I keep looking out here. If I can't find enough before it gets too late, I'll go fight a Strahteme."

The girl shook her head vigorously. "No, you can't do that! A Strahteme would easily kill you! Please don't go, brother!"

"I've always been able to find a way out, don't worry!" He exclaimed happily, "Please, just go home and get some rest." The boy sighed, "I guess those posters didn't work…" He kicked the frozen earth.

"Wait; were you the ones who put up posters for Strahteme horns?" Alice wondered aloud. They nodded and Alice dived into her pockets and handed two horns to the children. "We saw it down the road; will it be enough to heat your inn?"

They seemed shocked that Alice would just simply give them the two horns. "It'll be enough to heat just one furnace; the big one in our lobby. The smaller ones need at least one to work all night for our guests. We have five small furnaces."

Alice smiled, "Please, let me take care of those Strahteme horns. Just go back home so you both don't catch colds." The two children thanked her before running off. Alice got back up to her feet ad looked up to see Captain Malik.

"Princess, I'm sorry but we don't have enough time to take care of these small problems. There are other people in this town you can hunt to Strahteme for the inn." Malik placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please, let other people handle this."

Everyone could see the determination on Alice's face and all knew that Malik was going to lose whatever he just got himself into. Alice seemed to be glaring at Malik and for the first time looked furious at the Captain. "No! You said it yourself that Fendel doesn't care about these people. Who do you expect to come into their defense?!"

He removed his hand from her shoulder. "Someone in this town will come to help them-"

"No they won't, Malik!" She shouted. It was the first time she had addressed him by his first name. "These people are starving and freezing cold; they won't risk their lives for each especially if it's an inn! You just don't get it!"

Malik crossed his arms. "Tell me what exactly it is that I don't get." He growled.

Alice was on the brink of tears as her voice became more desperate. "That little girl will lose her older brother if we don't fight those Strahteme for them! He'll go out and no one will ever try to stop him! You don't know what it's like to feel something like that; you'll never feel that!" Just then he saw through her behavior.

The Captain shook his head. "Princess, I'm sorry, I hadn't realized..."

"Just stop it…" Tears began trickling down her cheeks. "To you it might just be a waste of time but I'm going to find those Strahteme! I won't let her lose her older brother because her damn country refuses to protect her!" She pushed her way past everyone as she raced out of the town, leaving the group to watch her run away without any movement.

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**Woot! 30 Chapters! Holy crap I can't believe I've really made it this far... So thank you everyone for reading so far and I'm excited to go even further with my fanfiction!**


	31. The Runaway Princess

"Alice!" Asbel called, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Please come out here, Alice!" He feared that the young girl had gotten herself into trouble as she was typically good at it. The auburn-haired boy stopped in the middle of road to take a quick glance around.

Suddenly all the color flushed from Hubert's face and Sophie traced his line of sight to a dark color painted onto the snow. "What's that?" She asked as she pointed to the area that Hubert was staring at.

The Captain walked over to the colored snow, already having an idea as to what it was. "Blood…" He muttered. "It's blood." Malik said nothing more as he clenched his teeth and tightened his fists.

"We need to hope that we're not thinking of what happened." Cheria replied as she looked off down the road. The blood was splattered on the ground rather than left in a trail so they had no way of finding Alice.

Just then there was a loud squawking noise that obviously belonged to a bird of some sort. The group took that as their lead and raced off the direction of the sound. As they grew closer to the continuous noise it became louder and louder until it was coming from the other side of a bush.

Asbel crashed through the line of bushes to see Alice take down a Strahteme, the squawking ceased immediately along with the bird's life. The princess retrieved the horn and tossed it into a pile of the horns. As the young girl turned around, Asbel wrapped his arms around her, pulling her face into his chest. "You idiot!"

She said nothing as the old friend hugged her tightly into his body. Alice was quietly enjoying the warmth of Asbel and didn't attempt to push him away as he spoke to her. "I can't believe you did that! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" Asbel placed his neck on the princess's head before pulling her away to look her over. "You're alright?"

Alice nodded, "Y-Yeah, I'm alright." The princess looked down at her feet then slowly walked over to Captain Malik with a shameful look on her face. "Captain Malik…. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that…"

He shook his head, "No, I was too blind to see why you wanted to help those children so badly." Malik smiled. "You have a good heart; I understand now that you just didn't want that young girl to have to feel the same thing you're feeling now."

"There's like… Six… Seven… Eight Strahteme horns!" Pascal exclaimed as she examined the pile of materials. "Alice, you must be so tired!" She gathered the horns in her arms and looked up at the others before Alice. "We should head back to Velanik; it's getting pretty late."

Cheria nodded, "I agree. Without a doubt we're all very tired and it would do us all good to get some beauty sleep." She smiled as they began walking back down the road towards the small town. Alice had taken the horns from Pascal, carrying the bundle in her arms as she kept her gaze fixed on the glowing horns.

When they reached the inn of Velanik, the group was approached by an older couple. They had wrinkled skin around their eyes and thick clothing on to cover their already frail bodies. The woman came up to Alice and bowed to her, "Thank you very much young lady for gifted two horns to our inn." She smiled at the princess. "They will be of great use to us."

Alice appeared to be the happiest any of them had ever seen her. "Of course! It's my pleasure to help you in a time of need such as this." She then held the bundle of horns out to the woman. "Please, take these. I'm sure that this is more than enough for your multiple furnaces, correct?"

The two elders' eyes opened wide at the wealth of horns but neither placed a hand forward to touch them. "Oh my! You didn't have to do that for us, really! I can't accept these, it just wouldn't be right to take them from you."

"No please, I insist." Alice nodded. "My country has enough cryas so I wouldn't benefit from keeping these from you." The woman seemed slightly confused, "I'm from Windor; I assume you know our cryas position?"

The man bowed. "Your generosity is much appreciated, young lady. Please, allow us to repay you by giving you a free stay at our inn for the night. It's the most we can do for you since you were so kind as to simply give these to us."

Alice glanced around at the others and since none of them had any opposition, Malik nodded. "That would be very kind, thank you." They followed the elderly couple inside where it was much warmer inside. Alice set the horns down on one of the tables and she took a seat in front of the furnace.

Seeing the tired young girl at the fire, Asbel approached her and took a seat down beside her. "Hey, Alice?" He began while Malik and Pascal sat at the bar with Cheria took Sophie upstairs for a bath. Hubert remained near Asbel and Alice; seated not too far from the fire. When Asbel saw he had Alice's attention, he continued. "Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?" Alice asked. "I told you already that I wasn't hurt while fighting the Strahteme."

Asbel shook his head. "That's not what I meant." He saw the confusion on her face and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Earlier the Captain made you bring up your brother… You don't typically bring him up so I was just wondering if you'll be okay." Hesitantly, Alice nodded but the gesture wasn't accompanied by words. "Honestly, Alice. I can tell when you're lying."

She sighed and stared into the flames of the stove. "I know we're going to have to fight him again…" Alice muttered. "I don't want to hurt him but I know that it'll be much harder without me… It's just that… When I saw that little girl afraid to lose her brother; it reminded me of myself. The 'me' from seven years ago was so much like that and I just realized that I'm the same way now."

"There's nothing wrong with not changing…" Asbel assured her. "Back in Lhant, Sophie said that you and I were the only two who hadn't changed in the seven years we were all apart. Sometimes, remaining the same is a good thing."

Alice smiled, "That boy somewhat resembled Richard with his attitude. When I was little, nothing could stand in the way of my invincible brother. No matter what it was, he would always tell me that everything would be okay and I believed him because he was Richard; the big brother who was capable of anything." She rested her head on Asbel's shoulder. "Asbel… I'm starting to miss him even more…"

He let the princess rest her head and he sighed. "I know Alice, so do I." Asbel muttered quietly. "That's why we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure we get him back to you the way you remembered him. The way we both remembered him."

It was the middle of the night and Alice sat up in her bed, looking out the window to see snow plastered to the glass. With a low groan, she sat up in her bed and looked around, wondering how she had gotten there. The last thing she had remembered was sitting with Asbel in the main lobby so she figured someone carried her upstairs.

The bed across from Alice had been used but the person who was using the room had disappeared. Alice shivered despite having four thick blankets covering her plus the Captain's coat. She got out of the bed and wrapped two of the blankets around her body as she left her room to hear voices downstairs in the lobby.

Slowly, Alice made her way downstairs to find Malik and Pascal at the bar with Hubert standing not too far away. Alice stood at the corner, peering down at them without giving away her presence until the Captain looked up to see her standing there. "Princess; what are doing up?" He motioned for her to come downstairs. "Come warm up at the fire."

Alice hurried over to the bar and sat up on the stool. Although she was legally too young to sit there, Malik seemed to have no problem with having her simply standing there. "I'll make you some hot chocolate." He said before turning away as he heated up some water over a stove. "You're worried about tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Huh?" The princess had been caught off guard by the question but she soon sighed. "Yeah, I'm afraid we'll meet Richard again at the valkines… I'm afraid of what he'll do this time; if he'll attack me with such hatred imagine what he'd do to the rest of you." She seemed more worried about everyone else rather than herself.

Captain leaned over the counter and smiled at the blonde-haired princess. "Don't you worry a bit about the rest of us, alright? I will personally take up that as my responsibility." He assured her in his deep-toned voice. Malik turned around to finish making Alice's hot chocolate then placed it in front of her. "Be careful, it's hot."

As Alice took the cup from Malik, she raised the edge to her mouth and loot a small sip from the piping hot drink. It warmed her up instantly and the welcoming warmth reminded her of her older brother. She licked the chocolate from her upper lip then set the cup down while keeping her hands wrapped around it to stay warm.

"Strahta was too hot but Fendel's much too cold." Pascal exclaimed. "Captain how can you stand such cold weather? I'm dying here!" She leaned against the princess and nearly knocked her off the stool as Alice had to swing her arms to keep balance. Once both of them straightened, Pascal took a sip of her fruity alcoholic drink. "Does anyone know what time it is?"

Hubert approached the bar and placed an elbow on the counter but didn't take a seat for himself. "It's about two in the morning, I'd say. Much too early for a fourteen year old to be awake after recovering from a horrible illness." He sighed. "It may not be my place to say but I believe it's time for the princess to go back to her room."

The princess shook her head vigorously as she took a larger sip from the hot chocolate. "I will once I finish by drink…" Alice replied quietly. "Besides, it's freezing in my room since Cheria insisted that the window stay open a crack for fresh air. That really makes no sense to me if it's below freezing outside."

"Alice!" A voice shouted from upstairs as heavy footsteps descended to the lobby floor. "What are you doing up at this hour- And having hot chocolate?!" Cheria walked across the room to the bar and she placed her hands on her hips. "Captain, what are you doing letting her stay up and even giving her hot chocolate?!" She scolded the older man.

Alice sighed, "It' alright, Cheria. It just got cold and I couldn't sleep so I came downstairs." She smiled at the other girl as she took another sip from the hot chocolate only to have it snatched away from Cheria.

She looked down at her as she ushered the young princess off the chair. "You need to go to bed right now." Cheria ordered and guided her to the stairs as Alice walked upstairs reluctantly. "Honestly, Captain… She's too young to be staying up this late for hot chocolate."

* * *

**Took me awhile to update this but here it is! I felt that Cheria was being a little neglected so I decided to give her a little limelight as a mother figure to Alice. Oh and in case you haven't noticed yet, I really like expressing the relationship between Alice and Malik. A lot. Also, I just realized that I have kind of been giving false hope to those AlicexAsbel fans and I'm sorry xD I didn't realize how much that appeared like the intended pairing.**


	32. The Troubled Princess

"How was your night?" The older couple asked as Alice and the others came downstairs in the morning. It was still freezing but had warmed up a little since the night but Alice still needed the Captain's coat to keep warm.

Pascal gave a depressed expression to the couple as she dangled her arms. "It was so cold that I couldn't even warm up enough to fall asleep. I don't get how people and Fendel deal with this kind of weather!" She seemed to have a real knack for complaining about things that couldn't be helped; especially temperatures.

The princess raised an eyebrow as she had heard Pascal snoring nearly the entire night which was what kept her away for quite some time before she covered her head with a pillow. Alice adjusted the glasses as they began to slip down the bridge of her nose. "The little lady's right." The man began, "We do get some pretty cold nights here sometimes. We keep hearing rumors about the government planning to use their valkines to help us but I highly doubt that will happen."

"Do you have any idea where the valkines cryas is located?" Asbel asked. "We have business with a few of the researchers studying the cryas." He began to stretch the truth a little but it was for the best as this way they wouldn't find out about Richard.

Both of the elderly people shook their head. "I'm sorry but I'm not quite sure as to where it is. However I hear that the studying is taking place in Zavhert; the capital. You may want to start there and see what you can find out." The woman explained.

Pascal tilted her head and brought her hand up to her chin. "Studying… So that must mean someone's helping them with the valkines… But who could that be? I can't think of anyone that would be helping them with their research."

"Well, we should get going now." Hubert interrupted Pascal's thoughts quickly. "Richard won't wait for us to get there so we need to make haste and beat him to Zavhert." He began leading the way outside of the inn as the others quickly followed close behind him.

The Captain stayed by Alice's side as she quietly walked behind the rest of the group with a saddened expression on her face. She knew that they would have to confront her brother again but she was terrified of that time and what it would bring. When she thought of how they may need to kill him she shivered and stepped closer to the Captain like a small child would huddle close to their mother. "Captain, what will happen if we have to really hurt my brother?" She asked.

He seemed shocked by her sudden question and glanced down at the young girl as they entered the mountain pass. "Where'd that come from?" Malik asked in surprise and allowed the princess to keep close to him. "Well, if we'd have to go as far as to kill him… We'll do it quickly and painlessly so he doesn't suffer."

Alice glanced sideways at the Captain as he said nothing and rushed over to Asbel. The young princess had been slightly thrown off by the Captain's response as sometimes she wished she would be lied to. As the princess lingered closely to Asbel he looked down at her. "What's wrong, Alice?" He asked quietly.

"Nothing… I'm fine." Alice lied as she remained close to her old friend as it was the only thing keeping her from breaking down. They began walking up the gradual slope up towards the exit to the mountain. The princess rushed up the walkway and outside where she was then out of sight to the others still inside the cave.

"Someone go get her…" Cheria sighed as Hubert nodded and rushed past the others and after the young princess. "She's just like a child, honestly. I think you rubbed off on her too much when you were younger, Asbel. I know she didn't get it from her brother because growing up he was a good person and had morals."

The Captain hurried to the others and stopped them before joining Hubert and Alice outside. "Don't mention anything to Alice about her brother. Not too long ago she asked me about what would happen if we had to hurt Richard; not having her brother is starting to really get to her. Just keep it off her mind and we should be good. I don't care what it is; the temperature, plants, the sky, clouds- I really couldn't care less."

Everyone noticed that even the Captain seemed disturbed by the way Alice was being affected by the absence of her older brother. "I didn't know it bothered her that much…" Asbel muttered as he glanced from Cheria to Sophie. Pascal looked down at her feet before racing outside with Sophie right behind her.

Outside the mountain pass was Hubert and Alice chatting about the route they should take up to Zavhert. "There's a port nearby here that will take us straight to Zavhert in about two hours." Malik interrupted as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. The cold was biting at his bare arms but he didn't dare complain as Alice's kind nature would cause he to give the jacket back.

"You sure know a lot about Fendel, Captain!" Alice exclaimed with no hint of bitterness or accusation in her tone. She looked up the mountain slightly then across down another path. "I take it that the port is somewhere down that path, right?" She asked.

As they departed from the dock for Zavhert Alice raised her hands to the ponytail in her hair. "Can I take this damn elastic out of my hair? I can't stand it!" She tugged at it gently. "They're not gonna recognize me just because my hair is down, right? I don't think I have that extraordinary of a face that I'm labeled as a princess right away!"

Hubert shook his head. "No, we can't risk having someone recognize you and then the Fendelian army won't let us into the capital. They may not want crucial information given to someone of an enemy country even if you are looking to protect them. Do you want a repeat of Strahta? Your brother deliberately took the eleth from their cryas and blamed you for all of it."

"Yeah I remember, Hubert." Alice replied with a slightly irritated tone to her voice. The fact that the blue-haired boy kept bringing up her brother was really starring to get on her last nerve. It was only a matter of time until she put him in his place. Regardless that Hubert is of the Strahtan military, he still has no right to disrespect or go head-to-head with a member of the royal Windor family.

As the young girl wandered around the ship, Asbel stayed nearby but didn't allow his presence to be known. Since the Captain brought it to his attention that she was starting to be effected by the absence of Richard, Asbel had been worried about her deeply. He watched silently as Alice leaned against the railing and slowly slid down as she planted her face into her hands with a heavy sigh.

Although Alice thought she was most likely looking for some time by herself, Asbel could plainly see that she desperately needed someone to talk with and calm her mind. Asbel stepped out from his hiding spot and sat beside the young princess. "You need to stop worrying about Richard so much, Alice." He began. "He'll be just fine as long as you make sure he knows you still care about him and that you'll never truly abandon him, alright?"

She didn't give any sign of listening to Asbel except for the fact that she picked her head up from her palms. For a few silent moments Alice just simply starred up at the clouded skies as they slowly approached Zavhert. "Yeah, I know… It's just that when I'm constantly being reminded of what has happened I can't help but worry about whether or not I'll ever get Richard back."

"If you think like that you'll never be able to cope with having to keep going without him, Alice." Asbel mentored. "Ignore Hubert, he doesn't fully understand the situation and that's why he seems so cold about everything." The auburn-haired boy wrapped his arm around the smaller girl's shoulder. "Richard will be just fine and so will you."

The two sat on the floor for the entire trip to Zavhert discussing things other than Richard. Asbel figured that as long as he could keep Alice's mind off of Richard, she'd be okay. As they docked into Zavhert's port, Alice rushed off with Pascal close behind her. "Zavhert is so…. Weird." Alice commented as she slowed to a walk.

Pascal pranced around the princess happily. "Yeah but isn't it exciting being in a city where you know people would freak if they knew who you were?!" She exclaimed in a strangely happy tone. The older girl stopped to tilt her head at the perplexed princess before rushing off into Zavhert as she dragged Sophie close behind her.

"I fail to see how having people want to kill who you really are is fun." Alice muttered before following the two girls further into Zavhert. The brilliant city had tall cold-looking buildings with people bundled up in animal furs. Many of the people wandering about made up the Zavhert military and they seemed to be watching the citizens intently.

As the princess observed further she looked back at the Captain. "Captain, why is security so tight in Zavhert?" Alice asked and stopped to speak with the oldest group member. "In Windor the citizens live freely and the military is rarely involved in their lives opposed to Zavhert where they're watching them like hawks."

Malik crossed his bare arms. "Right now Zavhert is on high alert because of what happened in Strahta." He treaded lightly on such a delicate sheet of ice that was the topic of the king. "They want to make sure that no one from Windor's military or royal family gets into the city. They'll most likely question us when we reach that line over there."

Just then Hubert approached the princess and handed her an identification card then turned to give one to Asbel as well. "You'll both need these; Alice because she is of royal blood, and Asbel because he carries the surname of Lhant." Alice looked over the identification. "You'll need these to pass through security so make sure you know the information on there."

The card said that Alice's name was Cassandra and she was from Strahta's Oul Raye. After studying the rest of the information, Alice stepped forward as they approached the line of guards protecting the center square. "Your identification, please?" Asbel was the first to go through and he recited his false information flawlessly.

Everyone else was able to pass through with real identification but when it was finally Alice's turn she blanked as they asked what her date of birth was. The guard eyed her suspiciously and sent two other guards behind her as they grabbed her arms. Suddenly Malik lightly placed a hand on the soldier's shoulder. "She suffers from severe short-term memory loss so you must forgive her if she doesn't remember her birthday. Some days she's lucky if she remembers her first name!"

The Captain wore a brilliant fake smile as the soldiers hesitantly excused Alice from further analysis of her identification and sent the group off into Zavhert. "You almost got us caught, be a little more careful, Alice." Hubert warned rudely.

"When I said I wanted to be treated like a normal person I didn't mean I wanted you to be rude to me." Alice growled. "I liked it much better when every one of your sentences ended with 'your highness'."

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**Sorry this took so long guys! I really tried getting through my writer's block but it took a while for me to regain motivation. Hope this will hold you over for a bit! Also there will be quite a bit of fast forward through dungeon traversing to save me time and so that we can get on to the good part.**


	33. Deceit in a Crowd of Allies

As they continued towards the center of the city they were confronted by another round of suspicious soldiers. They surrounded the group and Alice kept her head down and tried to stay behind Asbel and Cheria where she couldn't be seen by the majority of the group. "How did you get past securities?!" One boomed. "You are not from Fendel."

"We've already been allowed passage into Zavhert but if you need more assurance of us being of no threat to you then here." Malik stepped forward and passed a folded sheet of paper to a soldier. "Credentials registered in Fendel. We've recently returned from Windor and are on our way to meet with Chancellor Eigen. Now if you don't mind… I'm sure the Chancellor wouldn't want to hear that a soldier of his was the reason that made us tardy."

The young princess scurried after the rest of the group as the soldiers parted ways without another word to them. Even though she was properly disguised Alice couldn't help but feel nervous around the Fendelian army. They were so cold in demeanor compared to the warm hearted soldiers that populated Windor's army. "I'm surprised they fell for such a trick…" Malik muttered.

Asbel gave a hairy eye at the Captain. "How did you get your hands on Fendelian credentials?" The young could-be lord asked as they continued on towards a tall tower.

"Just in case something like this should come up I had such credentials forged to get me out of a situation nicely." He explained quickly. However Hubert's suspicions weren't completely put to rest so he decided that he would keep a close silent watch on the much older male in case he dropped any hints that disproved his recent statement. "We should get going before they catch on the trick."

* * *

After hours of painstaking trudging around the city, the group gathered a large amount of information on the Fendelian army and what they were doing with their valkines. "So Fendel really is carrying out experiments on their valkines…" Asbel concluded. "But no one knows where it even is. And the Amarcians are helping that…? That doesn't make sense; I thought they were an extinct group of people."

"This is really, really bad…" Pascal muttered. Alice turned to her before the older girl continued. "If the valkines isn't working right then it'll be near impossible to safely extract eleth. So if their experiment fails… Then there's a possibility the entire sight will explode and take out the entire country."

There was a very short silence and Alice sighed as she thought about what would happen if her brother attempted to extract the eleth from the valkines cryas. Alice quickly shook away the idea and looked around at the others. "Just a small piece of cryas could make a crater in the earth but something as big as a valkines… That's a whole other story." Pascal explained further. "And I'm pretty sure they're using my research in their plans. Like those weapons the soldiers were using at Warrior's Roost; the schematics reflected my research directly."

Both Asbel and Alice tilted their heads trying to figure out the contradictions in Pascal's statement. "I thought you said those weapons were using Amarcian technology?" Asbel asked confused as much as Alice.

"Yep!" Pascal exclaimed. "I'm an Amarcian." She revealed. Both Cheria and Alice vocalized their confusion and Pascal tapped the side of her head. "Did I forget to tell you guys that? I thought I had mentioned that at least once before…" After a moment of silence the Amarcian shrugged. "I guess it slipped my mind! Oh, I've got a good idea; how about we visit the Amarcian enclave? They might be able to help us."

Asbel nodded. "Is it nearby?" Pascal confirmed that the enclave was nearby. "Well then I guess it can't hurt to just try it out." He suggested as he looked from Cheria to Alice. Everyone seemed to have no problem with the idea except Hubert.

"Just wait a minute." The blue-haired boy interrupted as he approached Pascal and stood beside Alice. "Why did you keep your Amarcian heritage a secret from us? No one just simply forgets to reveal something that big." His eyes narrowed. "What is it that you don't want us to know, hm..?" The boy's eyes were full of crude accusation as he glared sternly at her.

Pascal shrugged. "No one ever asked about it so I figured you didn't really care either way." She replied. "You know, a good ole' 'Pascal are you an Amarcian?' would've done nicely." Pascal paraphrased a possible question that would prompt her to say she was an Amarcian. The older girl scratched the back of her head as Hubert growled.

Suddenly Hubert turned on Malik with his fueling anger. "And you, Captain!" He shouted. "That little show of yours when we entered this city was much too convincing to be fraud; perhaps you're hiding something as well." Hubert seemed to be searching for ways to keep his little tantrum going as he quickly glanced at each party member with his narrowed blue eyes.

The Captain said nothing; however Alice didn't like Hubert attacking others in a fit of anger that was kindled by something ridiculous. "Hubert, that's enough." Alice began. "You don't need to turn your anger on others."

"So I suppose you don't find any of this suspicious?!" Hubert retorted. "Two of your companions are keeping secrets that could be the beginning of a mutiny against you. After all, the Captain lost his job only because of you, correct?"

This comment only seemed to start anger within Alice as well. "You idiot; the captain would never hold a grudge about something like that!" She shouted. "He would never…" Alice trailed off as the captain gave her a stern look.

Malik shook his head. "It's alright, Alice… Hubert is right; I have been hiding something from you… All of you." He took a short pause. "Although it's been twenty years since I was last in this country; I'm originally of Fendel." The captain watched as Alice's eyes widened in surprise; it was obvious she never suspected a thing.

"I knew it…" Hubert muttered under his breath as he looked to Alice. "So do you still want this man travelling with you? A man of Fendel could easily switch his loyalties as he is no longer bound as a Windor knight." The princess went to reply to Hubert but Asbel grabbed her shoulder and shook his head at her. "Malik has lied about his origins while Pascal's beliefs require us to ask if we wish to know that she is of an extinct race. Are lies and deception simply accepted?"

"In that case; Alice could be working alongside her brother to drain the valkines!" Hubert exclaimed. His eyes softened as he felt a sudden pain of guilt when he saw Alice's eyes cast down at the ground. However, Hubert quickly discarded his feelings and continued. "I will go no further with allies that are so quick to hide things from me, Asbel."

Before Asbel could say anything a group of soldiers came running up towards the quarreling group. They kept their guns pointed at the group as they glared at Malik. "Malik Caesar has been a dead man for years! Quickly, all of you! Identify yourself!" The captain muttered quietly to himself for a moment as the soldiers continued. "You and your companions are under arrest."

Alice cursed under her breath then looked up at Asbel for direction. "Time for us to go, guys." Asbel ordered as they began racing down the road to their left as they left the soldiers far behind the group. As they ran more soldiers came out from other roads that connected to their path and one reached out to grab Alice. Their grip tightened on her jacket but she hugged it close and pulled herself away as she ran after Asbel.

The princess ducked as the soldiers shot bullets at them and chased the group down the main road. They were coming closer to Zavhert's exit when all the soldiers gathered in a mob behind them. Malik quickly scooped Alice up and held her close to act as her human shield just as one bullet grazed Malik's shoulder.

As they finally crossed the bridge from Zavhert to the Mt. Zavhert Malik set Alice down on her feet and rubbed his wounded shoulder. "They got me…" The man muttered as the princess looked up at him worriedly and Cheria approached. "Don't worry, Alice; it'll be fine." Cheria used her healing artes on the minor wound and the bleeding stopped almost instantly. "Thank you."

"Do you think we lost them?" Alice wondered as she looked over to Asbel. The older boy could see that she was particularly worried as she wasn't quite fond of Fendel's military. Fendel's cold-hearted soldiers were the exact opposite of Windor's kind and personable knights. When Asbel nodded to tell Alice that they were safe she looked around at the others. "So what do we do now?"

Everyone shrugged except Pascal who placed her hands on her hips. "Well since we're already headed in the direction of the Amarcian enclave how about we go there just as a little detour? We don't exactly have anywhere else to go, right?" She looked at Hubert who crossed his arms and looked in another direction. "It may be cold but it's really nice there!"

Pascal began tugging at Hubert's arm roughly as he yelled at her to let go of him and stop her pulling. "Alright, alright! We'll go to the enclave but only because we have nothing else to do until we can live of an alternative plan." The boy sighed as Pascal released his arm and began walking up the path along with the others.

As Alice began making her way up the mountain behind the others Hubert slowed his pace to match Alice who had said nothing. "Princess Alice?" He began. "May I have a word with you?" Alice made a hesitant gesture for him to continue on with whatever he planned to say to her. "Please excuse my arrogance earlier; I had forgotten how sensitive the subject of your older brother was to you. I shouldn't have accused you of such things."

"It's forgiven…" Alice muttered quietly. "If I can forgive the captain and Pascal for omitted such important details from the group then I can excuse a single comment from you. Besides; if I remain effected by your comment then it will only reflect within my performance in battle." She sighed. "I'm ready to stop being protected all the time… I need to show that I can fight for myself."

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**Guys I'm so sorry I took so long to update this! Please forgive me; I have so much going on right now!**


	34. Hubert's Realization

"Ugh, Pascal!" Alice began as they continued up the mountain. They were slowly coming closer to the summit and although Alice could see the end of the trail not too far up the trail, she saw it as a mile uphill. "I'm exhausted! How much longer will it take to get there?" She groaned loudly as she pulled off the glasses and set her hair free from the elastic.

Pascal turned to look at the princess. "It's only right around this corner; don't worry!" She titled her head. "You're usually not one to complain about this stuff." She winked before turning and charging up the slope a little more with Sophie.

Both the captain and Asbel turned to Alice with a curious look. "Do you need me to carry you, Princess?" Malik asked as Asbel waited for a response so that he could help the younger girl up the rest of the mountain.

She shook her head. "No, I don't need to be carried; I have two working legs." Alice answered with a smile. "Is it written somewhere that the knights have to carry me everywhere? Honestly, you'd think they'd let me simply walk by myself…"

"Well, it's written that we must tend to every need of the royal family even if the request is unvoiced." Asbel answered as he looked ahead of him. "So technically it is written that we have to at least ask if you'd like to be carried when you say you're tired." The captain agreed quietly and gestured for Alice to walk past him.

As the group neared the very end of the trail they came to a minor fork in the road where both pathways were dead ends. At one end was a ring of glyphs that Pascal pointed to as she explained that it was the gateway to the Amarcian enclave. Suddenly there was a low rumbling sound and Sophie quickly glanced around the area. "What was that?"

Everyone looked around carefully and then Malik turned to see a strange boar scraping its hooves against the cold ground. "Just a stupid animal, it's nothing we need to concern ourselves with." Hubert stated shortly as he turned away from the monster. "Surely we're not letting this get us worked up."

"Wait, little bro don't turn your back on it!" Pascal exclaimed as the boar began racing straight towards the group. She quickly pushed Hubert out of the way as Asbel grabbed hold of Alice and jumped out of the boar's way. Pascal didn't have enough time to get out of the way as well and was hit aside by the powerful creature. "You alright, little bro?"

Hubert nodded as he pushed himself back up along with Pascal. The captain stepped forward with a hand on his bladering. "Don't let your guard down; this climate has caused the monsters to become rampaging beasts." He informed quickly as the others drew their weapons and the boar readied itself to charge again.

As the boar ran down the slope towards they group, they quickly dispersed and Cheria immediately began to ready a spell alongside Pascal. "We'll keep casting on it; you guys keep it away from us!" Cheria called to the others who all acknowledged her subtly. Both girls became surrounded by glyphs while the others did their best to keep the boar away.

The princess stood at the center of the area as the boar aimed straight for her. It scraped a hoof on the ground before it began to run straight for her and at the last moment Alice jumped up and grabbed onto the monster's back. It continued running straight towards Pascal and Cheria with Alice on its back. "Keep casting!" Alice ordered as she pulled at the fur on the boar's back and directed it away from the casters.

It ran straight into a wall moments after Alice jumped off its back and onto a tall boulder. The boar shook the dizziness from hitting the wall from its head as it turned to look at the group. Hubert unleashed a barrage of bullets on the boar as it raced towards them again and sidestepped before it reached him as Asbel slashed his blade across its legs.

When the boar turned around to look at Sophie before it charged Pascal and Cheria finally finished with the spells and brought down the powerful magic upon the boar. A plume of fire sprouted out from under the boar and sent it into the air just as Cheria's Lightning Blast slammed into the creature.

The boar slammed into the rock face and fell to the ground limply as it had been defeated. Alice smirked as she realized how well everyone was able to work together now. "And just like that we win!" The princess exclaimed happily as she jumped down from the large rock to Pascal's side. "But man, Fendel sure has some scary monsters prowling about."

Sophie turned to Pascal, "Are you alright, Pascal?" She asked worriedly. The older girl nodded with a genuine smile as she looked to Hubert who kept his back to everyone and faced the limp creature they had slain.

"Even after everything I said to you about your concealed knowledge…" Hubert muttered aloud. "You still saved me… I don't understand." The boy slowly turned to look at Pascal who still wore a wide smile.

The white-haired seemed confused. "What do you mean?" She wondered aloud. "One of the team was in danger so I stepped in to save you! I mean, wouldn't you do the same if one of us were in danger?" Pascal asked as she flashed her one-of-a-kind smile at Hubert who only looked away from the girl.

"Your life was put in danger because of me and you even got injured." Hubert muttered. "I'm very sorry, Pascal." He apologized sincerely. Pascal acknowledged the apology and simply brushed off any pain that she might have been in. "How can you smile so easily even after you've sustained an injury?" He then looked to Malik. "And you have reason to be cross with me as well, Captain."

Malik chuckled slightly. "Sometimes the fiercest of the warriors can be taken down by a simple mistake." Although the princess didn't quite understand what the captain meant by these words Hubert seemed to understand very well. When the captain noticed that Alice was having trouble figuring it out, he smiled at her. "Don't worry yourself over the meaning, Alice. It has no application to you."

The captain then continued as he spoke to Hubert. "It's admirable of you to acknowledge your mistakes and address them through making amends." He nodded sternly to the young boy. "With such sense of judgment you are unlikely to make the same mistakes again."

Both Alice and Asbel smiled as they remembered being trained by Malik and him saying something similar to them as well. "I expected you to be far angrier with me about this entire ordeal; I'm surprised to find you so dismissive. You as well, princess; you were much more passive that I had anticipated in regards to my earlier comment."

Alice smiled without saying a word and captain Malik nodded. "You're clearly already punishing yourself so I see no need for any further lecturing on your mistakes." He saw Alice and Asbel glancing at each other in their confusion. "What's with such hasty glances, you two?" He asked suspiciously as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, captain…" Asbel began before he trailed off only to have his sentence picked up by Alice. "When I made a mistake you spent hours lecturing me on all my other options in the situation and then interrogated me about what I was thinking and why I did what I did." Asbel nodded his agreement with the young girl. "You never spared me any lectures…"

The older man crossed his arms. "That's because you're the princess and need to know right from wrong in your own kingdom." Malik replied. "I can't have you running around doing whatever you please while causing chaos in the streets! What kind of imagery would visitors get if they saw the princess running rampant in the capital? For a princess you sure don't act like royalty." He sighed. "Both of you deserved every last word of my lectures."

Alice looked away quickly. "I don't need to act like a princess; like I want to be some stuck-up proper brat who needs servants to do everything for her." She rambled jokingly. "Besides, just being address as a princess gets on my nerves… I don't want to give people a reason to call me princess other than my heritage."

Hubert gave his thanks to everyone and Alice nodded her response. "As long as nobody was hurt in the wake of your mistakes everything is well with me." The captain answered with a curt nod. "We got lucky and now it's over, right Pascal?" She nodded and twirled around on one foot happily as she was glad to have the ordeal over.

"No, I refuse to let this end without punishment." Hubert interrupted. "I owe all of you a debt and I intend to see to it that I pay." Suddenly he felt something slam into him and pull him down by the neck to a level about a foot shorter than him. "P-Princess?" Hubert stuttered in his surprise as he realized it was actually Alice hugging him.

The princess had her arms wrapped around Hubert's neck as she hugged him tightly. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself, Hubert!" She exclaimed in a cheery tone. "What happened to the Hubert I knew when we were kids? You grew up much too fast; why can't you enjoy being so young before you get old like Malik?"

Although the captain took no offense to the comment about his age however still found it incredibly bold of her. Asbel and Cheria both chuckled a little at how confused Hubert was by Alice's sudden display of affection towards him. "Please, princess. I don't deserve your kindness." Hubert muttered quietly as he did nothing to resist her but did not wrap his arms around the young girl in such an awkward position as he was forced to bend over in an uncomfortable way.

"Say you don't deserve kindness one more time and see what happens, Hubert." Alice threatened in the same cheery tone as she let go of Hubert. She looked around him to see the boar. "How about you carry that to the enclave for us to start out your little 'self-punishment' obsession?" Alice suggested.

Hubert turned to look at the boar in surprise. Such an enormous creature surely would crush him the moment he lifted it up. "That is quite a big boar…" Asbel pointed out blatantly as he scratched the back of his head. "Have fun, Hubert."

Pascal tapped her chin in thought before she finally spoke. "I've got a new idea! Since that boar would crush Little Bro flat…" She began as she approached Hubert and began shaking his hand roughly. "How about you agree to be my friend?!" The eccentric girl exclaimed. After a few moments she let go and looked at the others. "Alright! Let's get going, the enclave is right over here!" And with that Pascal began running further up the right-hand path.

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**Damn I'm on a roll here! Two updates so far? Something about hurricanes make me productive!**


	35. An Underground Race

As they came into the strange city of the Amarcian enclave the princess was in absolute awe of the strange technology within the hidden town. "I've never seen anything like this…" Alice marveled as she stepped out into the enclave's center. She looked up at Malik with curiosity. "Captain, have you ever been here?"

He shook his head. "Even growing up in Fendel, I had no idea that this place even existed." Malik answered with a slight tone of amazement. "It's a wonder that no one has ever found this place before now." He added afterwards.

"Well, we've been helping Fendel out a lot lately what with the valkines and all so we have to keep our location all hush-hush." Pascal explained quickly. "If they were to find out where we all were then they'd easily overpower us and take all our secrets and technology. And trust me; there's a lot of information here that people outside of the Amarcians wouldn't be able to handle." She shook her head as she spoke. "So let's go to my house!" Pascal suddenly changed subjects.

The princess watched as Pascal hurriedly led the way towards her house and Alice took a while to pick up the pace and begin to follow them. Alice hung close to Malik as she felt a little tired from the long day. It had been awhile since they had rested last and staying close to Malik meant she could let her guard down. "Are you getting tired, princess?" The captain asked with a light smile at the young girl who only nodded back to him. "Don't worry, we'll rest soon."

As they finally reached Pascal's house and went inside, Alice experienced what a complete disaster the room was. Dirty and clean clothing was scattered around the room along with tools, gears, and design plans. Strange devices and other things were stacked high up to the ceiling and the furniture was simply placed in any place where it could fit. "My room…" Pascal began to mutter. "It's… It's clean!" She exclaimed.

"This is clean?!" Hubert and Alice exclaimed in unison. Both were in awe of how messy the room was and that it looked as if a tornado had broken in and destroyed the entire house. "Not once have I seen a mess this big since I saw Asbel's desk when Richard and were visiting Lhant when we were younger."

Pascal looked over the mess that she deemed to be clean. "You don't just go into someone's room and clean it up when they're gone for only a few minutes!" She pouted. "That's so not cool… Now how will I be able to find anything now that my stuff's been put away?"

With a sigh Asbel looked around the room. "Pascal, when was the last time you were actually here?" He asked with a slight hint of accusation in his voice as he ignored Alice's jibe at his organization skills when it came to his desk. When Pascal answered with 'three years', the auburn-haired boy shook his head. "Then I don't think you can go around complaining…"

The older girl seemed to be looking for something in particular and when she couldn't find it she stood up straight. "I knew they took them! My cryas research got swiped from my room!" It was the first time they had seen Pascal show the slightest amount of anger in her expression.

"So someone has been using your research to help Fendel with their experiment on their valkines cryas?" Cheria asked to clarify the situation. Pascal nodded and Cheria sighed. "Who would take your research though?"

Pascal shrugged. "I dunno but how about we go ask the overseer? She would probably know something." She suggested as she looked from each of the party members then around at the room one last time. No one had any objections to the idea and Alice was even falling asleep on her feet as her exhaustion began to take over her. "Aw look how cute the princess is, she's falling asleep!"

The princess open her tired eyes to look at Pascal sleepily and then at the others as she failed to focus on anyone. "Huh? Oh, sorry I guess I'm a little tired." She apologized quietly before dozing off once again as she used Malik as a wall to lean up against. "I think I'm going to head to the inn I saw on my way here if you guys don't mind that we spend the night here."

"I'll take you there, princess." Malik began once everyone agreed to stay the night in the enclave. "Fill us in about the meeting in the morning; I'm going to try and get some sleep myself as well." He added as he turned and began to guide the young princess out of the house.

Asbel began to follow the two. "I'll come too." He informed them as he turned to the others. "I'll meet you guys back here in a minute; I just want to make sure she's okay." He said quietly so Alice wouldn't hear him. Not that she would be able to concentrate on his words in her state of near-unconsciousness.

"Are you feeling alright? It's not like you to simply doze off like that, princess." Malik asked concerned as they began walking down the road.

Alice didn't say anything at first but soon enough she gave a little shake of her head. "No, I'm fine. I'm just overtired, that's all, captain; nothing to worry about." She answered as the weight she placed on Malik became heavier as her tiredness took over.

The captain and Asbel exchanged a slightly worried glance before Asbel sighed and picked the young princess off the ground. She immediately fell asleep in the warmth of his arms as if the warmth of being close to someone was exactly what she had been waiting for to get some rest. "Something isn't right…" Asbel shook his head.

When they finally reached the inn the captain went to the desk and handed the Amarcian money to pay for the fee of their beds then followed Asbel into one of the bedrooms. Asbel set the princess down gently on the bed before straightening as he cracked his back. "It's a good thing she's small for a fifteen year old or else we would have some trouble."

Surprisingly the princess didn't wake up when Asbel set her down like she usually does but he passed it off as he being tired. "I hope her behavior is just a result of her over-exhausting herself." Asbel muttered to Malik before he turned away and began to walk out the door. "I'll fill you in in the morning." He said with a wave of his hand before he left the room.

Just as Asbel was gone Alice sat up in her bed as she rubbed her tired eyes. "Captain Malik…?" She began as she saw Malik going towards the other room they had paid for. "Could I… Talk to you for a little bit?"

"Hm?" Malik turned to look at the princess whom he had thought was fast asleep and completely dead to the world. "Of course." The captain approached her and sat down on another bed next to Alice's. "What is it that you wanted to speak with me about?" He asked in a kind tone; the same he usually used with the princess.

Alice hesitated for a moment before she looked up at Malik. "I know I've asked you this before but do you… Do you think Richard will ever come back home with me?" She asked quietly. "If I could bring him back to his senses then maybe we can live normally again… We can pay for all the damages, return the eleth, and do anything to prevent war!"

Malik set a hand on the young girl's shoulder to calm her down and get her to lower her voice. "Please, you mustn't worry yourself about these things right now; you're tired and need to get some rest." As he fixed the young girl's pillows she gave him a look of uncertainty. "As for your answer; perhaps if you believe you can bring him back then it's possible you can get your brother back to his old self. Now go to sleep, Alice."

"Alright… Thank you, Captain." She muttered before laying her head down on the fluffed pillow and instantly fell into a deep sleep. Malik sighed and pulled the covers up over Alice's arms before turning off the lamp and walking out towards his own room that he would share with the other men in their party.

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**Three updates?! Oh wow! I hope you guys aren't getting used to this because it's probably not going to become a regular thing... haha. My favorite part of the game is coming up but is still quite far away.**


	36. To Threaten Your Allies

Asbel was kneeling beside Alice's bed as he gently shook her until her soft brown eyes slowly opened to look up at him. "Hm? Is it already morning..?" She asked quietly as she rubbed the sleep out of her heavy eyelids. Sophie pulled open the curtains in their room to let the strange teal glow of the Amarcian enclave filter into her room. "Ah, Sophie… Please close those?"

The young girl shook her head as she had been instructed by Asbel to open the curtains and she would never go against the person she trusted most. "We're going to Pascal's sister's laboratory." He informed the princess quickly as she crawled out of bed and reached for the captain's coat. As she slipped her arms through the sleeves Alice grabbed her hairbrush and began forcing it through her tangled hair.

Once she was ready Asbel and Sophie led Alice outside where Pascal and the others were waiting by a strange fountain. When Alice reached the fountain she could see that it was spewing a strange thick liquid rather than water like the fountains in Lhant. She touched one of the 'water'-falls and tasted the liquid on her finger. "Chocolate?"

"Yep!" Pascal exclaimed. "The sugar energizes people so we wanted to keep an energizing drink around for everyone here so they can stay up late to work on research!" Although Pascal found it very normal to have a chocolate fountain the others saw it as strange. Never had Alice even imagined a chocolate fountain in the center of a town. "Oh!" She continued. "We should probably get going to Fourier's lab."

As they began making their way out of the enclave and back onto Mt. Zavhert Hubert stopped Alice. "You need to put the glasses back on and get your hair into a ponytail. We might run into some soldiers on the way there and if they find out the princess is here it'll only make it harder for us to get to the valkines when we gain its location."

Alice sighed as she put her hair up into the ponytail that she absolutely hated and slipped the glasses onto her face. "We need to hurry up with this Fendel expedition; I hate wearing my hair in a ponytail…" She growled.

"Captain?" Sophie began as she turned to look at the much older man. "You taught both Asbel and Alice with the same training, right?" Malik nodded. "If they both went through the same training then how come they're so different?" She wondered. It was an interesting question and everyone seemed to be listening for Malik's answer.

Cheria nodded. "I was wondering that myself as well; Asbel's so headstrong and outgoing when in new places but Alice is much more timid. However they do fight similarly in battle; I guess that's where they hold similarities. But the contrast in their adaptation skills is quite overwhelming." She looked back at the princess who even had a timid look in her eyes.

"I wouldn't describe the princess as being timid so much as I would cautious." Malik replied. "They received the same training but I believe they focused on two different aspects that the thought was the most important to master." He continued. "Asbel it seems focused on the skills he would need to adapt to other places in battle while Alice honed in on using caution in battle and making sure she kept her guard up."

The princess sighed. "Not that being able to adapt isn't important; I just wasn't good at it." Alice picked up the pace as she noticed she was falling a little behind. "It improved since before I had Malik as my trainer but it still isn't my strong suit. But that's what we have Asbel for, I guess." She put on alight smile as she trotted up to Asbel's side.

Asbel looked down at Alice. "Then what do we have you for?" He laughed jokingly as he gently pushed the girl to the side. "But it's weird that you would pick up on that, Sophie. Where did your question come from?" He asked.

"You were walking without looking around, Asbel." Sophie began to explain. "But Alice kept looking around like she was looking for something. And you're both so different with the way you talk." She added afterwards. Alice gave the girl silent congratulations in her head on being able to point out that Alice had been glancing around nervously.

As they continued up the mountain they eventually reached an enormous tower and Pascal walked halfway across the metal bridge over a small gap in the mountain. "Whoa… I never knew her laboratory would be this big! Can't say I'm surprised considering who she is, though!" She added enthusiastically.

"What's your sister like, Pascal?" Sophie asked.

Pascal turned with a wide smile. "She's only a year older them me and she's really smart! Fourier has accomplished all kinds of cool stuff. I remember following her around everywhere when I was little; she's kinda my role model. Anyway, I'm sure she'll understand once we explain out situation to her."

As Cheria looked around the building she looked over at Pascal. "Do you think there's a possibility that Fourier could have the valkines in this laboratory?" She suggested with a slight tilt of her head.

"It would be awesome if that could happen, wouldn't it?" Pascal wondered aloud. "But I'm really not sure so we should just go in and look for ourselves!" Everyone nodded and Pascal motioned for everyone to follow her. "Let's go find Fourier."

Just as Alice and Asbel went to follow Pascal, Hubert stopped both of them with a call of their names. Alice turned alongside Asbel to look at him and he asked if they could stay outside for a moment. The princess looked over her shoulder to Malik who kept his gaze on Alice waiting for him to come along. "Go on, captain. We'll be there in a minute."

Malik nodded then followed the others inside. "What is it, Hubert?" Asbel asked.

"I need to talk to both of you about His Majesty…" Hubert began cautiously as he watched Alice's expressions carefully. He saw the sadness in her eyes return but he continued. "I'm sorry but it is a matter that needs to be brought up, your Highness."

Asbel sighed. "Hubert's right… I feel like Richard might be suffering right now but we're here in Fendel just running around in circles. We don't even know where the valkines is and we've already spent too much time here." Alice's eyes cast down at her feet as she listened to the two brothers talking about her own.

Suddenly a sort of anger glistened in Hubert's eyes. "You say _Richard_ is suffering?! I must say that I have no clue what you're talking about." He seemed irritated by Asbel saying that Richard may be suffering.

"Richard isn't acting this way because he wants to, Hubert." Alice growled at the older man. "He would never do the things he's doing if he was in his right mind! Something's wrong; I just know it." She sighed sadly.

Hubert looked down at the princess. "I don't care if he's in his right mind or if he even has ways of justifying his actions!" He shouted. "If he doesn't stop this behavior then I'm afraid I'll have to kill him myself!" He looked to see that Alice's eyes were wide with fear from his harsh, terrifying words as Asbel placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hubert!" Asbel shouted in a scolding tone but Alice continued the auburn-haired boy's sentence. "I won't ever let you do that, Hubert!" She shouted. "No matter what I'll always protect my brother from you; I won't let you come close to killing him even if it means I have to turn against you to do so!"

"He nearly killed you, Alice." Hubert retorted. "You must realize how dangerous the situation will become if you go to protect him. He didn't kill you so it must only make you stronger for the next battle! Learn from your mistakes of trying to communicate with him and face the fact you need to fight him!"

Alice shook her head as tears threatened to break through. "That's not true… What doesn't kill you… It doesn't make you stronger." She took a deep breath as she paused. "It only makes you tired… And terrified of it ever happening again."

Both looked extremely surprised by such wise words from a young girl however Asbel snapped out of his awe to follow Alice into the laboratory. "I won't let you hurt Richard either, Hubert. I can change him back, don't worry, I'll show you." He said to his brother quietly before disappearing into the building.

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**Oh wow I didn't mean to make Hubert so antagonistic but this particular skit had been requested by a few people. I never got this skit in my playthrough so I didn't know about it but I found it sad when I finally saw it. Oh, forgot to mention that you guys can request skits that you'd like to see appear in this story! I may had already mentioned it before but still.**


	37. Fourier's Distaste

As Hubert, Asbel, and Alice caught up with the group the princess immediately hung to the captain's side without saying a word. He found this strange but as he had known the princess her entire life he knew when she wasn't in the mood for talking just by looking at her. The captain watched as Alice lifted his arm and placed it around her shoulder which was something she had never done to him before.

They continued down the various hallways that were strangely powered by batteries in coordinating rooms. But not matter what happened, no matter how many monsters they fought, something seemed to be affecting Alice so much that she would return right back to Malik's side once immediate danger was gone.

Eventually they came up to an elevator that would bring them up to the next floor. Although her counting could be off, Alice believed they were currently on the third floor. As everyone packed into the elevator Alice kept herself between Malik and Asbel while she avoided anyone's gaze. Once the elevator doors opened and they came out onto the floor they turned to stand in some kind of circle.

"The monsters in this lab really are strange…" Cheria pointed out. "I've never seen anything like them."

Malik nodded. "I agree; I've haven't seen anything like these monsters myself. However I did hear about something like Fendel conducting new experiments… Perhaps those experiments are being conducted in this laboratory?" The man suggested as he adjusted the coat up onto Alice's shoulders when one of the sleeves had slipped down her arm.

Suddenly there was a low growl and Alice turned to stand face to face with an enormous tiger-like monster. It bore its teeth at her as the saliva dripped down from its top two fangs and just as it went to bite the young princess Malik grabbed the back of the coat and pulled her back into him. "Stay sharp, princess."

The monster spread its wings wide as it let out a ferocious roar and lunged towards Asbel and Sophie who had prepared themselves for a fight. Sophie back stepped four or five time as she dodged each swipe of its claws before she was ready for a counterattack. When it had finished its onslaught of swiped Sophie jumped into the air and came down with a crushing blow to its back right between its two wings.

Asbel slashed across the back ankles of the beast and it growled in pain as it whipped around to be faced with the barrels of Hubert's guns. He fired off the guns and sent the bullets diving into the monster's chest. Alice readied her blade and darted forward while Cheria threw a cascade of knives that lodged themselves into the beast's flank.

The princess jumped onto the beast and pierced the creature's shoulder which caused it to collapse on one side while Malik was able to throw his bladering and cut it across the throat. The beast was finished as fast as it had come into the area and its body was now lying limply on the ground. There was then a slow, steady clicking of heels as a woman stepped out from the elevator at the opposite side of the room. "I'm surprised you managed to kill my darling veres."

As Alice turned to look at the woman she noticed how scary the resemblance between Pascal and this girl was. They had the same hair and eye color however there was a much more mature aura around this woman unlike Pascal who was childish and energetic. "Fourier!" Pascal exclaimed as she ran over to her older sister.

"Good heavens, Pascal!" Fourier began. "Thank goodness it's you. I thought someone was trying to steal my research!" She placed a hand on her hip but didn't give a hug to her younger sister or show any sign of sibling affection. Alice was deeply confused by this as they obviously hadn't seen each other in a long time. It had only been about a week since Alice last saw her brother and she was already tired of being away from him even if he wasn't exactly on their side right now.

Pascal looked surprised as she carried out her conversation with her older sister. "I can't believe you built that veres, sis! You're absolutely amazing!" She praised as she hopped between her feet in front of her sister. Malik was reminded of how Alice reacted to seeing her brother after he would leave on trips to other towns or countries.

The older Amarcian flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "The veres might have been even more amazing if you and your little friends hadn't destroyed the thing so easily." She replied in a bit of a sour tone. "Anyways, Pascal, what are you doing here with such a large amount of company?" Fourier asked as she turned away from her sister.

"We wanted to ask you about Fendel's valkines cryas." Pascal answered. "We thought that since you were conducting research here that you would know at least where we could find it." She scratched the back of her head. "It's a little important."

Fourier raised an eyebrow. "You mean my research on Forbrannir?" She clarified as she turned back towards her younger sister. "I'll have you know that years of my time have been spent on that research being used in the experiments!" She placed both hands on her hips. "Your work may had been the basis but I worked to improve upon it so your input matters not; the results is the only thing that truly matters."

The other girl smiled. "It's alright, sis." Pascal began. "It's not like I came here to take the credit or fight you for it, sis. I know you've done a bunch of work on it; a lot me than me." She then crossed her arms. "But how smart you are doesn't matter right now; that research you've based yours upon is still flawed."

"And what is that supposed to mean, Pascal?!" Fourier growled as she grew defensive of her work.

Pascal fumbled for words at first but soon she sighed as she couldn't figure out how to explain the situation to her sister. "It would be much easier and faster if I could just show you." Pascal gazed around the ground through squinted eyes. "Does anyone have a small piece of cryas fragment; maybe the size of a little bean?"

Everyone began to carefully search the ground and eventually Sophie picked up a little fragment of a red cryas. "How about this one?" She asked as she handed the bit to Pascal who walked over to Sophie to take the cryas from the young girl.

Pascal took the sample after thanking Sophie and brought it over to a large machine at the front of the room. She placed the cryas fragment on a small panel that transported the bit into a tube behind it. As the cryas began to glow as eleth was being extracted from it, Fourier beamed with her proudness. "Isn't it impressive?" Fourier began happily. "No one before now has been able to properly extract the eleth from a fire cryas so efficiently."

With a sigh Pascal wandered over to a control panel of some sort as Alice watched along with the rest of the group. "Yeah but if you just adjust this the little bit and do this then…" She turned around to everyone. "You all might wanna take a few steps back." She warned them in all seriousness before turning back to the control panel.

Slowly the cryas in the tube began to glow brilliantly as everyone retreated to the back of the room. Asbel darted forward to retrieve Pascal just before the tube exploded and glass was scattered all over the floor. Fourier slowly inched towards the demolished test tube cautiously as Pascal and Asbel pushed themselves back up. "What happened…?"

"Now do you see what I meant by flawed?" Pascal began as she turned to look at her older sister. "The thing with fire cryas is that if too much pressure is added when extracting the eleth then it will start a chain reaction. When reactions begin everything starts to accelerate the swirling of eleth and then soon it goes... BOOM!" She paused for a moment. "With a handheld device you can easily control the amount of pressure and the reaction rates but with something as big as Forbrannir…"

Fourier looked down at the ground with a sigh. "So that's why the work was unfinished…" She muttered to herself quietly.

Pascal nodded. "Yep, I saw where the research was going to end up so I put a stop to it right then and there." She then grew tense. "That's why we need your help so that we can stop the experiments before the entire country is wiped off the map!" She exclaimed. Fourier shook her head and stated that she couldn't tell them. "I know it may be hard for you to tell them so why don't you just tell me where it is so we can tell them."

"Are you making a fool of me, Pascal?" Fourier growled in an ill-temper and Pascal seemed extremely confused. "You said that you saw the whole thing coming and you worked that all out right there in your head?!" She leaned forward. "Do you have any idea how long I spent working on those plans and you just told me that it's e for failure?! You're always trying to top me… Trying to prove yourself better than me. So effortlessly; you always leap right ahead of me with your quick thinking!" She shouted.

The younger sibling seemed extremely hurt by Fourier's explosion but Asbel quickly stepped in to diffuse the situation by switching topics. "Please, Fourier we need to know the location of Forbrannir…" He glanced back at Alice quickly who wasn't really focusing on the conversation but rather Pascal as she approached the Amarcian and attempted to comfort her. "And even without the experiment we're still in great danger. Forbrannir could potentially be drained of its eleth like Gloandi and Duplemar."

She turned her head to Asbel. "What do you mean 'like Gloandi and Duplemar'?" Fourier asked. "I've never heard of anything such as their eleth being drained from those valkines."

Asbel nodded. "Yes we must stop the experiments and the draining of the eleth before we're too late." When he looked to Alice again she was trying to avoid the conversation and hung by Pascal's side as she kept a hand on the other girl's elbow. "So please just tell us where the valkines cryas is." Alice lifted her head from Pascal as she heard the desperation in Asbel's voice and she slowly returned to Captain Malik's.

Everyone bowed to Fourier as she was now beginning to calm down and she sighed. "Alright, I don't know where the valkines is; I'm only helping out with the research itself." There was short pause while everyone's expressions faded into disappointment. "But I can at least point you in the direction of the man who does know where it is; the one calling the shots with the experiment." Asbel inquired as to the name of the man. "He's the chief science officer of Fendel; Kurt Bessel."

Alice looked up as Malik's muscles tensed in his arm. "Did you say Kurt Bessel?" He asked as he took a step forward. "Never thought we'd see each other after such a long time like this…" The captain muttered almost to himself. "Where is he?"

"You can find him at the Ministry of Science in Zavhert but whether or not he's actually there right now is beyond my knowledge." Fourier informed quietly. "But I hope I was still of some help to you…" Asbel thanked the older Amarcian with a short smile. "Do whatever you please; I care not…" She muttered as she stole a quick glance at her younger sister.

* * *

**Alright everyone so I feel as though I need to find a way to describe Alice's relationships with the characters she doesn't interact with very much. Well with Asbel she sees him like an older brother as Richard is somewhat absent at the time and he's the most approachable of all of them. Malik of course is like a father figure and a source of security as he makes her feel as though no one can hurt her. ALice sees Pascal as an older sister and finds Hubert to be an older brother of some sorts. Then there's Cheria who is somewhat like a mother-figure as she is constantly looking out for everyone and taking care of them. And finally Sophie; although thre isn't much interaction at all I find that I've gotten used to having Alice treat Sophie like a younger sister. ANd so there you have it; all of her relationships with other characters~!**


	38. Hubert's Melting Heart

Once they were finally out of the laboratory Pascal stopped halfway across the bridge with a sigh. "I never knew that Fourier resented me so much…" She muttered aloud. "I've been making her so miserable and never even knew it." There was a long pause. "I have to go apologize to my sister!" She exclaimed suddenly as she turned to run back inside.

Hubert shook his head. "That won't help very much, I believe. Pascal, Fourier's problem has nothing to do with her… It's herself that she has the problem with." He seemed to be trying to comfort Pascal in his own way and it made Alice forget everything that happened before for a few moments. However the anticipation of him saying something insensitive again made her remember the event all over again. But what he said next surprised her; "Fourier's self-loathing has been crushing her for years along with her self-doubts. I fear your sympathy will only make matters worse."

She let out a long sigh before looking down at her feet. "It's just that…I really love my sister, you know? I just wish she would know that… Like how Richard can tell that Alice really loves him. Even though I only knew him for a short time I could still tell that he could see how much she cared about him and loved him." Alice said nothing but looked down at the ground as she could feel Hubert starring at her.

Asbel took a step forward as Cheria sighed deeply. "She'll understand someday, Pascal so don't worry." He consoled with a slight smile. "Right now you're the only one who has the knowledge to stop the experiments at the valkines; don't lose yourself now. And even if she'll never truly acknowledge it; you are the only one who can save Fendel. And I don't think you want Fourier's research to be responsible for the extermination of an entire country."

The blue-haired boy stepped closer to Pascal. "By helping us to save Fendel you could save your sister's reputation and maybe even her life." Hubert added as an afterthought to Asbel's small speech to the young Amarcian. "We can't do this alone. We need you, Pascal." He finished as he looked away. "So please pull yourself together and let's go."

Pascal wiped the light tears from her eyes with a big smile. "Little Bro… Thanks everyone, I'm okay now." She looked up at them. "You really are the best guys ever." She praised as she hopped between her feet as she usually did.

Asbel turned to his brother and they exchanged a few words as Sophie stepped forward to comfort Pascal while she wiped away the last of her tears. As the group began to move away Alice started walking with Pascal but turned to see Malik standing on the bridge?" Are you coming, Captain Malik?" She asked.

"You go ahead." Malik answered but then looked at Hubert. "Hey, Hubert!" He called as the blue-haired boy turned to look at the captain. "Mind if I have a word with you?" He asked as he crossed his arms.

The princess continued to follow the others and passed Hubert as he walked over towards Captain Malik. Once Malik made sure that Alice was out of earshot before he looked down at Hubert. "What did you do to her?" He asked sternly as he positioned himself so that he was blocking everyone's view of Hubert.

Hubert raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you mean, Captain." He answered. "I did nothing to harm the princess." He met Malik's gaze with such determination that it struck a wrong chord with the older man.

"Don't lie to me, Hubert I know you did something to upset the princess." Malik growled. "She hasn't been herself since you spoke with her outside. Not once did she leave my side while we were in there and the only reason why she left just now was because you're here with me so tell me… What did you say to her?"

With a deep sigh Hubert crossed his arms. "I felt that the topic of her brother needed to be brought up with her so I told her the truth of what needed to be done…" Malik prompted for Hubert to continue and after a short pause Hubert spoke. "I told her that if Richard's behavior continued then I would end his life myself-"

"You did what?!" Malik shouted. "How could you say something like that to her? Do you have any idea how much Richard means to her?!" He seemed extremely angry with the young boy. "For what reason did you feel the need to tell her that? The fear of you killing her brother is probably terrifying her right now!"

Hubert searched desperately for words. "I didn't… I didn't mean to scare her…" He shook his head. "Dammit I keep hurting her…" He quickly looked up. "I'll apologize to her right away, Captain Malik."

The captain nodded. "Hubert I've made it my duty to protect her from people who may want to hurt her. That job of mine includes keeping people from getting so close to her and then just turning around to betray her. I won't let it happen ever again like it did with Cedric." Hubert looked up with a confused looked on his face before Malik turned away. "I'll go get the princess and this time, think about what you're going to say to her."

As Malik spoke with the blonde princess she began to rush over towards the bridge to confront Hubert. "Princess Alice…" He began as he noticed that the young girl was avoiding his gaze and she appeared as though she was longing to go back to the captain. "Look… I'm sorry for what I said to you; I was far out of line. I'm just afraid that you and Asbel lack the bravery to end King Richard's life as he is a close friend to Asbel and your older brother."

Alice was at first silent but soon looked up at Hubert into his eyes directly. "How did you feel when you were ripped away from Asbel? When your father gave you away to the Oswells?" She asked softly with no accusation in her tone. "You were lonely without your brother, weren't you? I remember Asbel always being so proud about having you as a brother; he loves you so much Hubert. And it was easy to tell that you loved Asbel as well."

"When I was taken away…?" Hubert repeated as his eyes widened. I… I was crushed. I didn't know where to turn to or what to say… You're right, it was lonely and terrified." Suddenly he felt an impact that sent him staggering back a little. He looked down to see Alice with her arms wrapped around his waist. "P-Princess…?"

Both stood there for a few moments before Alice spoke up. "I'm so sorry, Hubert…" She muttered quietly. "I never meant to threaten you… I just got scared; scared of you following through with your own threats." Alice pulled away a little and looked up at Hubert. "I can't lose my brother, Hubert… You don't understand… I just can't lose Richard."

Hubert crouched down a little to stand face to face with Alice. "It was me in the wrong; I had no reason to bring up the topic with you let alone threaten to kill your brother." His usually hardened expression was soft. "Although I'd like to fully take back what I said I still… I still plan to use it as a last resort."

Alice nodded. "And I'll do my very best to make sure that you won't have to prove that statement true." She answered as Hubert straightened and cleared his throat. "I believe it's time we join the others…" Alice suggested as she turned around to look off towards the rest of the group who was waiting patiently for the other two.

Once they reached the rest of the group Asbel approached Alice and looked down at her. "Is everything okay now?" Asbel asked Alice out of his concern for more her mental state. When she nodded he looked over to Pascal. "I think we can head back to Zavhert now." He suggested. "We're all good now."

As they began walking back down the mountain towards Zavhert, Cheria noticed that Alice was much happier and seemed to be less conflicted. Cheria smiled lightly at the reanimated princess while Malik shouted at her to be careful for her now to slip or to be wary of any monsters around. However no matter how much he yelled commands at her she still continued to enjoy herself on the mountain.

"Will you quite down lest you cause some avalanche?" Hubert suggested nonchalantly. The princess turned to look at him before she sighed and stopped walking until the others caught up with her then she began to walk alongside Cheria.

Cheria seemed to be thinking deeply about something before she spoke up. "What would you like to have for dinner tonight?' She asked suddenly. "I was thinking of asking the captain but I have a feeling he'd request Sea Bream and if I had asked Asbel he would've asked for Mild Curry." She sighed. "Honestly it's almost as if they can't stand to eat something different for a change."

Alice thought for a moment before she gave out her answer. "How about… Steak?" She asked. "It's a little expensive but it's been awhile since we really ate an actual meal." The princess remember the dish she had on her way to Strahta quite some time ago. "Actually, can we have whatever I ate on the boat to Strahta?"

"Wait, do you mean the Chicken and Tofu ramen bowl I bought you?" Cheria asked. "You actually liked that? I thought it wouldn't meet your standards of a meal." She laughed a little before nodding. "I think I could make that the next time we secure a place with a decent kitchen that I can cook in."

The princess seemed perfectly happy with the idea as she joined Asbel and Sophie towards the front of the group. "Are you and Hubert still friends, Alice?" Sophie asked suddenly out of the blue. Both Hubert and Alice gave shocked looks at Sophie as they tried to assemble their thoughts together to give her an answer.

"Of course we are, Sophie!" Alice exclaimed. "Just because we had a little fight doesn't mean that we're not friends anymore. It's healthy for a relationship to go through rough patches sometimes because once you overcome those patches your bond is much stronger." She smiled as she thought about seeing her brother again once he was all alright again.

Sophie smiled. "Good." She replied shortly. "I don't want you and Hubert to not be friends." And as soon as the conversation started, it had ended. Soon enough though they had reached the very outskirts of Zavhert and Alice looked over at Malik but he didn't seem to be much focused. Then as Asbel looked at the captain he gave a stern look for Asbel to keep a close eye on the princess as he was distracted.

Asbel grabbed hold of Alice's hand when they finally entered the capital once again. "Fourier said that Kurt is the chief science officer for Fendel, right?" He asked. "So then where would we be able to find him?"

"North of the city is Fendel Tower that houses the government agencies…" Malik began. "I'm sure we'll be able to find him somewhere around there." He suggested but wasn't exactly too involved in the conversation. His mind was still wandering as it had been since Kurt's name was first brought up at Fourier's Laboratory.

At first Asbel seemed to feel right with the idea but then he stopped himself. "We should probably split up first and find out how to get in there. I doubt they'd let just anyone into the tower, right?" He wondered aloud. "Hubert and I will take Alice with us, Cheria can take Sophie, and then you and Pascal can go together, Captain."

"Watch out for her, Asbel." Malik warned before he turned around to walk off with Pascal at his side. The princess began walking between Hubert and Asbel as they took a different path down the streets of Zavhert.

They reached an older fellow who Hubert and Alice stopped to chat with while Asbel walked a little further up to speak with another citizen. "Excuse me, could you please help us?" Alice began. "I was wondering about Fendel Tower; how would one find a way inside to meet with a worker in the building?" She asked.

The man thought for a moment. "I believe you'd need a security pass to get inside or else they'll shut you down right then and there; although I can't imagine how difficult it must be to get your hands on one… Hope you have good luck with getting inside." Hubert thanked him before they began walking off towards Asbel.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked as she noticed Asbel was spacing out as he gazed over the railing towards Port Zavhert. He seemed to be deep in thought which wasn't like Asbel. "You look a little troubled." She added afterwards.

Asbel shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about some things…" He muttered as he turned to look at his brother and Alice." Hubert then asked if Asbel was thinking about his good friend; the King. "How'd you know?" Asbel laughed a little as the two came up to him. "Alice, do you remember when Hubert and I first met you and Richard?"

She nodded her head. "Yep! How could I forget? It was my first time out of Barona so I was excited." Alice seemed to be getting lost in the warm memories. "You and the others broke into our room and showed us around Lhant." She laughed lightly.

"I'm surprised you and Richard enjoyed being dragged around so much…" Hubert added. "And that you never called in security on Asbel." He muttered in a lighthearted tone. "You even forced him to wear that ridiculous disguise in Barona… Honestly, Asbel, always such a child; even now." He shook his head slowly.

Asbel smiled as they began walking again to find the others to see if they had found out anything. "Those were some good times…" He began. "When we were all together with no separation; even Richard." Asbel sighed. "But now he's alone… And no one's there by his side." He looked back at Hubert and Alice. "Maybe that loneliness is what drove him to the state he's in right now." Then Asbel stopped to look back at Alice. "I'm sorry… Maybe if I had stopped to pay you and Richard a visit every once in a while then maybe he wouldn't be like this… I can't help but think this could've all been prevented if I had been able to notice the trouble you and Richard were going through."

The princess suddenly jumped up to wrap her arms around Asbel's neck and he hugged her to keep her from dragging him down. "Don't you dare beat yourself up, Asbel Lhant!" She ordered stiffly. "None of this is your fault ad if for one second you begin to think that I swear I'll beat that idea straight out of you!"

"You know, it's not too late…" Hubert began but Asbel only looked down and shook his head. "You always were so stubborn." His brother growled with a slight tone of humor. "I guess it always was one of your strongest traits, Asbel." He sighed. "No matter how annoying you get you'll still pursue and issue. Why don't you listen to the princess; you believe that you can still save Richard so why don't you prove yourself correct? You persisted with me to mend our ties so use the same strategy with King Richard."

Asbel smiled. "Thanks, Hubert…" He muttered. "You're so great at putting things into perspective; I'm glad you're around." He continued to struggle with holding up the smothering princess as she hugged him tightly.

With a sigh Hubert turned away. "Please, Asbel." He began. "As your little brother it's my job to protect you and always look out for you. I mean, what would you do without me keeping you out of trouble?" Then Hubert looked to Asbel and Alice. "If Richard doesn't have anyone at his side; at least he still has you two who will always give him a place to come back to. After all, you promised to always believe in him; that's an obligation you have to the King."

"Like I said; if you even think about blaming yourself or resenting not coming to see us…" Alice began. "I swear I will beat you into a pulp, Asbel." She laughed a little at her near-empty threats. "Richard stills needs the two of us and if you lose hope then then so does Richard!" Asbel suddenly tightened his grip on the young princess and held her tight while Alice kept her cheek up against Asbel's affectionately.

Just then Captain Malik began walking down the stairs with Pascal right behind him. "Stand down, princess; you'll hurt the poor man's back." He approached them to grab Alice and pulled her off of Asbel. "Come on, now; Asbel shouldn't have to put up with you climbing all over him and giving him a hard time."

Then Cheria ad Sophie came down the stairs towards the others. "Hey, we found out something about an Amarcian who seems to have some relation with the Fendel Tower. She has a pass to get in, I hear." Cheria began. "Maybe she'll let us borrow it?" She suggested.

* * *

**Oh my aren't we close to one of my favorite parts? Quite exciting; nearly 40 Chapters and I still have so much more of the main storyline to go nevermind the Lineage and Legacies storyline. But there ya go; a little Hubert and Alice interactions then Asbel and Alice interactions (for you AsbelxAlice shippers out there). Also, after wathing the scene about Asbel's doubts towards the end of this chapter... I began to ship HubertxAsbel. Does this make me a bad person?**


	39. A Twenty-Year Grudge

There they stood in front on the tallest building Alice had even seen. Her castle was quite large but it was more wide than tall; however this building nearly touched the sky. The captain motioned for Alice to keep close to him as they approached the building. "So this is Fendel Tower…?" Asbel wondered aloud. "I hope Kurt's in here."

Hubert turned to glance back at Malik. "Captain Malik, you told us that you know this Kurt Bessel?" He paused. "What kind of man is her? You seemed quite shocked when you heard his name." Everyone seemed to be wondered why Hubert felt the need to know the information. "Things may come to extremes where we'd have to fight him then your input could become quite useful."

The captain was silent for a few moments before he spoke up. "20 years ago I met Kurt in the military academy of Fendel. Back then Fendel was still suffering from mass poverty and famine in poor communities. And as long as their own gluttony wasn't affected; the rich had no problem with watching the poor suffer. But then a reform movement was started by an officer who had seen enough. Both Kurt and I decided to join the movement as we supported his ideals."

"What happened?" Alice asked softly as she looked up at the captain. He sighed at first then placed his hands up on his hips. "The revolution was crushed right then and there by higher authority of Fendel. We were young and foolish to think we could get away with such an organization. Then knowing the life was in danger I fled from Fendel as fast as I could. But refusing to sit idly by while the flame of the revolution died out, Kurt stayed. He always was so strong willed and intelligent. He'd rather die than surrender his beliefs. I'd doubt he'd ever listen to a coward like me even if we do catch up with him."

Asbel shook his head. "As long as there's a chance we have to at least try to talk to Kurt." Malik looked to see the way both Asbel and Alice looking up at the Captain. They had strong admiration and major trust in their eyes that the captain felt tenfold. He sighed and agreed with Asbel before prompting for them to get going.

Just as Alice began walking towards the building Malik stopped her. "Princess, remember when I stopped at the armory?" He asked. The princess nodded as he held up a black vest. "I bought this bulletproof vest for you; take off the coat?" While Alice slipped off the coat which left her arms bare to cold air, the captain slipped the vest onto her. "The soldiers here fight with guns and in this tower security is pretty tight. They'll flat out shoot anyone who looks suspicious. It'll keep bullets from piercing your skin from a distance but remember; I can't protect you from a speeding bullet."

Alice nodded and pulled the coat on then buttoned it to conceal the vest. "Thank you, Captain." As they followed the others into the building Alice looked up at Malik. "And captain…?" He made a noise to let her know he was listening however he didn't look down. Alice turned her attention ahead of her. "You're no coward; you're one of the bravest people I know. And trust me, I'm not just saying that to lighten your spirits; I truly believe that."

As they finally entered the tower they were stopped by a pair of Fendelian soldiers with heavy looking armor. They grabbed onto Asbel and Alice who were walking at the front of the group and faced them towards the soldiers. "Identification! Now!" They ordered forcefully and Alice looked to Hubert who handed the card to the soldier that had grabbed hold of Asbel.

"The scientist by the name of Fermat is not feeling her best today." Malik began. "We've been sent as replacements in her stead." The guards didn't seem convinced as they looked at the large about of people behind the captain. "Today's experiments are highly labor-intensive; top secret, not allowed to say anything more."

The guards stepped aside and let go as Alice and Asbel reluctantly. "Seems plausible." One replied. "Your pass is only credible on the first floor; everything else is off-limits to your party." The second one finished. They glared as the group walked by and then turned each other once they were far enough away from the guards.

"Man you really saved us there, Captain!" Pascal exclaimed. "We would've been in trouble if it weren't for you. I mean sure we had the identification but without your story we would've been done for!" Hubert hesitantly nodded his agreement but kept a harsh eye on the much older man who no longer had the princess at his hip.

Malik sighed. "If you wish to label me as a career liar then do as you wish, Hubert." He replied to Hubert's wordless accusations. "I will not hold any grudge because of it I'll have you know." Hubert only turned his back to the captain while both Asbel and Alice sighed out of frustration with the blue-haired boy.

Rubbing the back of his head Asbel tried to fill the awkward silence that Hubert had given the captain as a response. "Getting in here was the easy part; now it's time to get some real work done and find Kurt." He looked off in one direction. "Let's just hope he plans to at least hear us out." He added as he hoped that this wouldn't all be for naught.

As they began making their way towards the elevator Hubert and Malik struck up a conversation with each other. Neither had a harsh tone that would give a hint of any kind of aggression or distrust. "I'm quite relieved that we've managed to make it this far to finding Kurt." Hubert began as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "At the first mention of Kurt being an old friend of yours I was worried that you might not offer us your cooperation as you would wish to avoid meeting him once again."

The captain let out a strong sigh. "Now that I've finally gotten this far to seeing him again I don't feel the same confliction I did back at the laboratory." He looked down at the princess as a switch of focus from the elevator door as Asbel swiped the identification card through the sensor to open the doors.

"I don't remember if I mentioned it to you before but Kurt is a formidable foe; one who isn't to be trifled with." Malik began nonchalantly as he followed the others into the elevator and the pause lasted the speedy trip up to the 39th floor. "I'm not completely sure of my abilities to persuade him into seeing the weight of our situation." The captain finished once they made it out of the elevator.

Hubert shook his head. "That's quite enough, Captain." He growled causing the captain to turn quickly in surprise. "That self-importance of yours needs to be kept in check, Captain. I'm tired of you thinking this problem is only concerning you." Hubert continued. "Convincing Kurt to help us is a collective effort as if we don't succeed Fendel will be blown off the map."

The captain chuckled. "I suppose you're right, Hubert." He answered as his old eyes darted from object to object as he surveyed the surrounding area. "I believe gratitude is due towards you." He smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't think of thanking me…" Hubert began. "How will the princess react if the person she looks to for protection doubts himself?" The blue haired by watched Alice as she walked beside his brother without a care in the world. She seemed to be in much higher spirits now that she felt as though she was getting somewhere in preventing the valkines from being drained.

It hadn't taken them long to get near to the top of the tower where Kurt's office was said to be. Since they weren't permitted on any floor but the first floor the group had slowly been exhausted by the constant stairs and quietly taking out soldiers they couldn't sneak past. Now they were walking past a strange frozen nest made out of spider silk. Alice examined it quickly before continuing on towards more stairs. "How many stairs do we have to climb?!" Cheria exclaimed.

Completely ignoring Cheria Alice looked at the captain who was standing off on his own at the side of the area. "Captain?" He didn't show any sign of acknowledging the fact she was even there. "Is something wrong? How come you're standing by yourself?" She wondered worriedly.

He shook his head and looked down at her. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Malik looked over the edge of the narrow landing they were standing on before he shuffled away from the edge nervously. "I… Um… I'm not too great when it comes to heights." The captain answered which struck Alice as quite surprising. She always saw him as a fearless knight who would never let anything scare him.

Sophie gazed over the edge as well as she commented about the people bellow them appearing the size of ants to her. As Asbel pulled Sophie away from the edge he looked to the captain with curiosity. "Is that true, Captain? You being scared of heights, I mean." He continued. "That doesn't make sense; at Wallbridge you were waiting up on that tower before you attacked us."

Malik nodded. "Of course it's true." He muttered looking from Alice to Asbel with a sigh. "I don't see any point in lying about something such as fears." Then he rubbed the back of his head as he leaned against the wall. "The fact I was up on that tower was most likely the leading reason as to why I lost. Had there been any other option I would've taken it in a heartbeat."

"Being beaten by Asbel and Alice really must've been a hard-hitting blow to your pride, huh Captain?" Cheria suggested without any hint of a teasing or antagonistic tone. The captain sighed and shook his head which caused Cheria to realize her words. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that; I was just saying."

The princess chuckled a little as she walked past Cheria to follow the captain. "He's fine, Cheria. Just a little worried because of his fear, I'm guessing." She rushed off to stand beside the captain between him and the edge of their platform

They hadn't continued on for much longer when they finally reached the floor they had been looking for. There was a golden tag on a door that indicated that the Ministry of Science was on their current floor. Without much hesitation the group entered the only room which was at the top of the last set of stairs the party ever wanted to see. They celebrated a silent victory that they had finally made it however Kurt was absent. "Of course…" Alice groaned.

Sophie asked Malik if he was disappointed that Kurt wasn't there as she tilted her head to the side. "I'm a little sad that I didn't get to see him here but then again I'm also relieved." The captain answered. "When I see him again I don't have the slightest clue as to what I'll say to him after all these years." Malik then looked up from the ground. "At any rate, we should do a bit of looking around now that we're here."

Everyone dispersed around the room to find anything that would point them in the direction of the valkines cryas; Forbrannir. The princess made her way towards the back of the room where there was a large bulletin board with a map of the world and a diagram of Forbrannir. She glanced quickly at the papers tacked on around the map and diagram but had no luck in figuring out the location of the valkines cryas.

With a sighed she continued looking around the back counter and found a picture of three young soldiers; one of which strongly resembled the captain. Assuming that she guessed correctly in the two men being Kurt and Malik when they were in the rebellion, Alice set the picture frame back down and looked to the captain. "Captain Malik? Would you come over here?" She asked. He obliged loyally and approached the princess. "Is this you and Kurt?"

Malik nodded. "Yes, back when we were much younger. That was taken shortly before I left to go to Windor." He answered however his mind was elsewhere as if he had been lost in thought. "And her… Her name's Lorelia. She died protecting a document from the Fendelian army… We analyzed it afterwards and just as she promised; it provided us with the information of as to where the cryas supplies were." He sighed. "And with that information we were able to supply our reformation movement. But I was never completely in the movement after Lorelia's death and eventually the movement had been stamped out by the suppressive government." He glanced down at Alice with sadness in his kind eyes. "Maybe if Lorelia survived… Kurt and I would've been able to make things work out. Don't say anything to the others, princess." The captain smiled at her before Asbel approached the two.

"Captain Malik." Asbel began. "Isn't that…?" He looked at the picture frame and Malik told him that it was him at a much younger age. "Look… I don't know what happened in your past exactly but... But you coming over to Windor was no mistake; trust me. Imagine all the things that would've happened had you not come?" He smiled. "I would probably still be kicking around Lhant and Alice... Well she most likely wouldn't even be alive now. So for what it's worth; I'm glad I got the chance to know you."

Suddenly the Captain's face turned to a smile and he let out a short laugh. "You two really are something; always able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, aren't you?" He placed a hand on each of them. "Come now, we still need to find out the location of Fendel's valkines cryas." Malik finished as he ushered them along.

Just then Pascal called everyone over towards the desk. "Hey guys, look! I think I found what we're looking for!" She shouted. They all congregated around the work desk where Pascal had a few loose pieces of papers in her hands. "This is the valkines cryas." She held out a picture of the enormous cryas; Forbrannir.

"Says that it's in a glacier just outside of Zavhert…" Alice examined. "Not too far away, right Captain?" The princess glanced over her shoulder to the man standing behind her. Malik shook his head, agreeing with the younger girl. "Then how about we get going before the valkines cryas takes out all of Fendel?"

As she began walking towards the door Sophie announced that someone was coming towards the other side of the door. Alice stopped to look over her shoulder before rushing to the right side of the door with Malik at the other side. Just as the doors swung open Alice soon had a thin-pointed blade at her throat and the captain's bladering was against a sword.

Asbel placed a hand on his sword's hilt as he stood beside Alice and watched the new man closely for any sign of sudden movements. This man had black hair with a gray patch on the right side of his part and was dressed in high-ranking military clothing. His face was rough from years of battle experience and aging. "Malik…?" He wondered softly. "Is that you?"

"Kurt, it's been awhile." Malik replied calmly but the princess could see the nervousness and uncertainty in the old man's eyes. "Please," Malik began as Kurt's blade lowered away from Malik. "Would you remove your blade from this girl's throat? Her life has been entrusted with me and I can't allow anything to happen to her."

The man kindly obliged and removed the blade from Alice's neck before proceeding towards his desk. "I'd love to spend some time with you to catch up but I fear I'm quite busy at the moment." He set a small parcel on his desk.

Captain Malik stepped forward alongside Asbel. "I need to ask you something, Kurt." He started. "Tell me, is it true that you're the head of the experiments being run on the valkines cryas?" Alice observed Kurt very carefully as she paid attention not every little detail. He had a strong stride that was slow and steady, perfect posture despite the heavy weapons he wielded, and his arms swung back in forth powerfully; definitely an adversary to be cautious of.

"Yes, I am the head of that series." Kurt answered. "And in my opinion the experiments are coming along quite well. We are growing closer to our first vital breakthrough since the experiments began." He kept his back to the group. "Should we succeed, then Fendel shall be able to extract eleth at a phenomenal rate." His hand turned to a fist. "Every Fendelian- even the poor- will want for absolutely nothing. In a new form twenty years later, the revolution lives on, my old friend." He looked over his shoulder at the captain.

Malik's eyes glanced away from Kurt along with a deep sigh. "Kurt… I'm sorry but you need to stop these experiments." He announced regretfully to his old and dear friend. Alice could see that telling Kurt that his experiments needed to be put to an end was causing Malik all kinds of conflictions inside him.

Pascal nodded her agreement. "The research your experiments are based is built upon my own research! It's flawed and I abandoned it for that very reason! An unstoppable chain of reactions will occur if you extract too much eleth from the valkines and Fendel will be blown off the map." The captain saw Kurt's confusion with as to who Pascal was and he introduced her as an Amarcian and expert on the valkines cryas.

"Your concern is appreciated however it goes unacknowledged." Kurt replied. "I will not stop experiments because a few foreigners and an Amarcian say that it's too dangerous. Your ancient knowledge may peg you in a higher IQ range than I but it doesn't make you wiser." The older man finished calmly. "I'm hurt that you had me so foolish as to rely solely of Fourier's work for a basis of research. Accounting for all the possibilities, we built upon her research and further modified it. Then really is no need for your concern, Malik." He turned to Asbel who attempted to speak only to cut off by Kurt. "Fendel is slowly dying." He began. "Should we cease experiments then the suffering of the Fendelians will only increase. We would be forced to invade Windor in order to survive. And with such bad history between her people and Fendel's people an all-out war would occur in a blink of an eye." Kurt finished. "This discussion is over."

Malik still couldn't leave the discussion at that. "So you're just going to continue the experiments? Are you even listening to what we're saying, Kurt?!" The captain shouted. "You're putting your entire country in danger; can you live with that kind of guilt?" He growled in ill-temper; the worst Alice had ever seen him.

The man glared over his shoulder. "You are an old friend, Malik and for that I give you two choices; leave now and I'll allow you to escape… Or stay and I shall call the guards to arrest you and your companions." Kurt then turned to Malik and leaned towards him. "Don't like I know not of your company." He whispered to his old friend. "Now do as you did twenty years ago; turn tail and run away." He raised his voice with such sharp venom in his words.

"Dammit, Kurt…" Malik growled as Alice stepped forward but Cheria stopped the young girl from doing anything she would later regret. As everyone quickly filed out, Alice noticed Kurt stealing multiple quick glances at her before Malik grabbed her by the arm and roughly pulled her away. "Come along…" He growled.

* * *

**I always found Malik and Kurt's relationship so precious and heartbreaking. That's probably why I put quite a bit of detail in dialogue and description of Kurt and Malik in the situation. Oh well, this update took me longer than I would've like but now it's time to go find the valkines, meet a familiar face, and get sent on yet another adventure. Get ready for your Asbel and Alice feels, you guys. There will be a lot of them.**

**Oh! This is also the first time where Malik shows little consideration for Alcie's comfort as he was very rough about dragging her out of Kurt's office at the end. Just realized that in this fanfiction Malik and Alice are slwoly growing apart D: Oh no. And I'f say this is about halfway through the main arc of the game. Next comes future arc and then maybe an extra arc :D**


	40. A Dear Friend Lost

"Although he refused to stop the experiments, this trip wasn't a total bust; we found out where the valkines is." Alice began. "That means that if we can get there in time we can force the Fendelian scientists to stop the experiments; maybe they're more open to outside ideas if we're talking about the destruction of Fendel."

Meanwhile the captain didn't seem to be paying Alice any attention at all which was unlike him. Usually the young princess had every ounce of Malik's attention place don her when she was speaking or simply in the same area as him but now he seemed spaced. "For twenty years Kurt fought the revolution all by himself… He must've mustered all his strength to do that and I can't even be a little supportive to him." Then he shook away the regretful feelings. "Pascal, after hearing they have made adjustments, do you think the experiments are still dangerous?"

The Amarcian shook her head. "No way; a valkines is just way too unstable no matter how much you modify the original research." Pascal answered. "We need to get to the valkines before it's too late. If they continue experiments or if Richard gets there to extract the eleth then… Well, you know what happens."

"I agree. "Asbel added. "We're the only ones who can warn them about the possible outcome of their experiments. If we can't change their minds then let's at least die trying." He looked down at Alice. "Because if Fendel explodes, we're going down with it as well."

Hubert adjusted his glasses and glanced sideways at the captain. "The next time we see Kurt he will be presented to us as an enemy. Are you prepared to fight him should you need to?" The blue-haired boy wondered with a slight tone of uncertainty. "A party of six may appear large but if one doesn't pull his or her weight then the group can be easily taken down." There was a short pause. "And Alice, if we succeed in stopping the experiments you and your brother will become the main target of Fendel's hatred. Can you take something like that?"

Captain Malik rested a hand on Alice's shoulder to keep the young girl calm as he spoke. "I'm prepared to fight Kurt however no matter what happens in the coming events I will always call him my friend." Malik's words reminded Asbel of his relationship with Richard and how no matter what he did Asbel always held faith in the young king.

"That's all I needed to know." Hubert finished as he and Alice began walking away with the others back towards the center of Zavhert. The captain thought about how Kurt told him that he knew of his company and although Malik knew what Kurt had meant, it still troubled him as to why Kurt said it to him. "Princess, my question earlier; what is your answer?"

She looked up at him quickly before glancing off ahead. "I'll handle it the same way I handled Strahta." Alice answered. "Although your country didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, I might be able to convince Fendel to believe us on this situation. However I can only do that if somehow my cover is blown sometime during our trip here." Her eyes darted around the area. "But if I must burden their hatred then I will… I have more than enough people to help me cope…" She finished as she looked caringly at Asbel.

Feeling the stare of the princess, Asbel turned to look at her then gestured for her to come over and talk to him. Alice nodded her head to Hubert before rushing off to Asbel and Sophie with a newfound energy. "I wanted to talk to you about when we get to the valkines…" Asbel began as he saw the excitement in her eyes made to regret and anxiousness. "If Richard is there and we have to fight him again I just want you to know that I will always stand by your side for as long as you want me to."

Alice glanced to him with a childish light in her eyes. "Thank you, Asbel… I know this is hard for you too; I always forget that I'm not alone in this." She smiled. "You cared about my brother too and so did Sophie."

"Alice?" Sophie began. "Are you scared of going to the valkines and seeing Richard again?" She asked with an innocent glance over to the princess and Asbel.

She fell silent for a moment before smiling lightly. "You know what Sophie? It's weird but I'm not actually scared. Instead I feel… I'm not actually sure how I feel." Alice attempted to explain how she was feeling. "I mean, I'm scared that I'll have to fight him- terrified of hurting him again. But then again I know that this is all for the good of everyone; even Richard."

Asbel placed a hand on Alice's far shoulder and pulled her close to him. "Don't worry, Alice. You don't need to figure everything out right now. Just focus on right now; we need to get to the valkines cryas and stop those experiments before Fendel is blown up." The princess enjoyed the warmth of an old friend as it reminded her of the better time where she had nothing to worry about. "Everything will eventually go back to normal."

"I hope so…" Alice answered as they went into Zavhert and snuck around the edge of the city with caution. The captain had brought himself closer to Asbel and the princess to be a little extra guard to the young girl. They quickly proceeded through te capital and came out to a long glacial pass that was a frozen river.

As Hubert took the head of the group, he cautiously stepped onto the ice and looked back at the others. "Be careful; the ice is thick but if we need to fight here it could easily break." And as if on cue a group of Fendelian soldiers stood in their path to the glacial cave that housed the valkines cryas. "Like I said; be careful."

Without any warning the soldiers began to open fire on the small group as they quickly dispersed into different directions. Alice held her blade out in front of her as she ran around to the back of the group and slashed at one soldier's back. Before she could get out of the way another round of bullets were shot off and one grazed her leg. As the princess collapsed to one knee and quickly inspected the wound, Pascal casted a strong fire spell to keep the soldiers away from Alice.

"Are you alright?" Sophie called back as she jumped in front of Alice and punched away one of the soldiers. She turned and held out a hand to the princess who graciously took it and pulled herself back up. "Watch out!" The purple-haired girl yelled as she flipped over Alice and blocked a few bullets with her gauntlets.

Alice charged towards another guard and stabbed her blade straight through is abdomen. "Thanks, Sophie!" She blocked a melee blow from a soldier then slashed across his chest and kicked him back.

As Asbel took out another guard, a second hit him so hard that he went flying a few feet back and onto a weak piece of ice. Suddenly the ice around him began to crack and Asbel struggled to his feet. The ice was pulling away from the main block of ice and Alice glanced over her shoulder towards everyone else who was busy taking care of the last of the guards.

She approached the edge across from Asbel and held out her hand. "Asbel!" She called to him. "Grab my hand!" As Alice leaned forward and Asbel grabbed onto her, she attempted to pull him back but soon found herself lurching forward towards the icy water. Just as she lost balance completely she felt someone wrapped their arms around her waist and pull back, causing Asbel to be propelled off the stray ice and onto the main block.

Alice looked down behind her to see Pascal holding her up high. "Um, thanks Pascal. But you can put me down now." The princess laughed weakly as the older girl set her down next to Asbel. "Are you alright, Asbel?" She asked him. Once she made sure that her friend was okay, they began making their way into the glacier.

* * *

"Look over there!" Pascal exclaimed as they came to an enormous cavern within the glacier pass. Small holes were at the ceiling of the cave that allowed light to flitter through and open the area to fresh air. "That's Forbrannir; the valkines cryas!" It was an enormous red crystal full of fire eleth however something was off about it.

Soldiers were gathered at the valkines's base along with scientists hired by the government to assist with the dangerous experiments. Strange machines were attached the valkines which Pascal assumed were for the extraction of the fire eleth. For his own security, Malik stepped in front of the princess to keep her from the soldiers' sights. Alice found the subtly of his movement strange until she saw Kurt Bessel speaking to a strange man. "The process of extracting eleth will commence soon." The man began.

Kurt gave one of the scientists a nod and he turned to the machines and pressed a few buttons as Alice watched in silence. Suddenly the pumps began to operate but nothing seemed to be happening. This enraged the man standing behind Kurt and he growled. "What's going on here?! Nothing is happening to it; increase the power!"

The princess looked to Asbel as if to ask him if they were just going to let everything happen right in front of them. "We can't let him go through with this!" Asbel shouted as he ran forward with everyone right behind him. "Kurt, please! You must stop these experiments!" The boy pleaded.

Suddenly Kurt whipped around to look at the ground and immediately drew his dual blades with a furious look in his eyes. "Capture the intruders!" He commanded. Kurt darted forward towards the group and Asbel brought his blade up to meet Kurt's before he could reach the princess. "I won't allow further meddling!"

Asbel tilted his blade so Kurt's slipped off as he turned and slammed his heel into Kurt's back. He stumbled forward a little then ran straight ahead towards Cheria who threw knives in his direction. Kurt managed to dodge all of them and just before he could attack Cheria, Sophie lunged forward and punched him to the side so he would miss.

"Pascal, get a spell ready!" Alice shouted back to the older girl as she darted forward with her sword unsheathed in front of her. It was the first time she was prepared to fight another human being; anything to keep Fendel from being demolished. As Pascal began to cast a spell, Alice slashed across Kurt's back and he turned around to defend himself from a second slash.

As Kurt managed to break free of Alice's slashes, he retaliated by slamming the dull side of his blade into her gut. She was knocked back onto the ground and Kurt walked towards her with his sword raised but as he went to attack again Pascal's spell finished and an icicle spear slashed across the arm holding his raised sword.

The sword went flying into the wall and Kurt set out to retrieve it while two Fendelian soldiers decided to make the fight more challenging for the group. One soldier ran at Asbel who blocked the attack but couldn't do anything about a few bullets penetrating his arm. He gritted his teeth through the pain as he disarmed the soldier quickly and managed to knock him out without killing him.

Malik was holding off the second soldier as Kurt got back into the fight in full throttle. He went straight for Hubert this time who let loose a barrage of bullets then followed up with a hard-hitting slam of his sword. The hit knocked Kurt straight into Malik who had just finished with the soldier and kicked Kurt aside as he turned around quickly.

Asbel darted forward with a strong slash and knocked Kurt onto his back as Pascal casted another spell to hit him with scolding fire. To finish off the fight Cheria casted Lightning Strike which caused Kurt to go limp as he knew that he had lost the fight. "Malik… We are no long equals; you've grown stronger."

"Without my allies I wouldn't had been able to take you on." Malik replied with sadness in his eyes as he saw Kurt defeated on the ground. He was bent down on one knee with his weapons at his side and Alice watched with pity for the man as he was only looking for a brighter future. Suddenly two soldiers stepped forward with their weapons pointed at Malik and the others.

Just then a strange aura began to emit from the valkines cryas as the eleth within glowed furiously. Kurt looked back to see a scientist turning up a dial and when the man yelled at the scientist to stop he shook his head. "My apologies but the Chancellor ordered me to increase output to maximum." The ground began to quake as the eleth began moving quickly within the cryas.

"Shut it down, you fool!" Kurt ordered. The scientist tried tugging at the emergency shutdown lever to stop the process of extracting eleth but the machine appeared to be stuck.

Pascal made a short noise of frustration as her eyes dared around the machine to one central pipe. "I have to destroy the main outflow pipe or else this whole thing is going to blow up!" She exclaimed in a panic. Cheria yelled at her that it was much too dangerous but Pascal turned to her. "This is my fault; I can't just sit here and do nothing!" She ran forward but Kurt held is weapon in front of Pascal.

The man shook his head as he looked back at Pascal. "This entire ordeal is because I refused to listen to you when you tried to warn me of the dangers…" Kurt began. "Allow me to finish what I've started; I want to save Fendel from its doom." He quickly ran towards the outflow pipe and pierced it with his blade as Malik shouted at him to stop.

As a strong electrical current surged through Kurt's body, Alice and Malik both watched in horror while Malik was shouting his friend's name. The pumping of eleth through the valkines began to slow down gradually until it returned to normal. As Kurt fell to his knees after the shock subsided, Malik raced to his friend's side concerned. "Hold on, please Kurt!" He urged with a hand on Kurt's back.

Cheria bent down and began to heal Kurt with his artes and Kurt turned to look at Pascal. "You… Pascal, correct?" The Amarcian nodded. "Please complete your research…" He continued through his immense pain. "Fendel's valkines still isn't working and without it, Fendel will continue to suffer. We must find a way to control Forbrannir." He let out a heavy breath. "Please… Save my people Miss Pascal…" Kurt struggled against the unconscious feeling to look up at Malik. "The revolution rests in your hands now… Do whatever it takes… Please, you can't let it die."

Just then Kurt fell back and was lying limp as Malik dropped to his knees next to him. "Kurt, you're stronger than this! Please, Kurt stay with me!" The man pleaded.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long everyone! Lots of stuff happened and I couldn't find enough motivation, time, and inspiration for a whole chpter! Luckily for you this one is a big longer than usual~**


	41. Protected Wishes

Alice watched as she noticed Malik looked completely broken as he saw Kurt lying before him, lifeless. Everyone took a moment of silence for the brave man before disbanded to different areas of the cavern that housed to valkines cryas.

Malik remained by his friend's side with Alice right by him. The young princess didn't want to leave the man by himself now more than ever since she wasn't sure what he'd do when something this devastating happens. "Malik, I'm sorry this happened…" She began. "I'm so sorry…" She looked up at the much older man who only pulled her into his side.

"It wasn't your fault, Alice…" Malik replied as he shut his eyes to the sad scene before him. "People live and then die; it's just a matter of when and where." The older man shook his head in disbelief. "I just never thought that this was the way he'd die."

Sophie came over to the Captain and princess along with the rest of the group and she looked down at Kurt curiously. "Is your friend dead, Captain Malik?" She asked in her usual innocent tone. Alice looked to Sophie slightly appalled but then remembered that the strange girl didn't quite grasp what death was. "So we won't see him again? That's not fair though, you just found him, Captain."

The nativity of Sophie made Alice's eyes begin to water as well as Captain Malik. Even though Alice didn't know Kurt very well, she was still extremely saddened that such a great man perished for him country. The princess bit back her tears as she watched Sophie bend down beside Kurt and reach out to touch his arm. "Please come back, Kurt." She pleaded softly. "You're making the Captain sad…" She added.

Captain Malik only shook his head as Sophie looked up to see him. "You need to leave him be, Sophie." He said to her calmly. "Let him rest in peace in the afterlife; his time alive didn't offer him much of that after all."

Suddenly the chancellor; whom everyone had forgotten about, looked up above the valkines cryas and his eyes widened in fear. "What the hell is that blasted thing?!" He exclaimed in a panic, causing everyone to follow his gaze.

Up in the air was Richard on the back of an enormous bird-like creature as it glided down towards the tip of the valkines cryas. "Richard, you came!" Alice ran towards the base of the valkines and looked to her left where there was a short container she could climb onto. As she pulled herself up she continued to make her way up despite the pleads from Asbel and Malik to stay back.

"Such a beautiful thing…" Richard muttered as his glazed over eyes focused on the glowing valkines cryas. "Come to me... Bring me your power." The king held out a hand towards the cryas as he began to absorb the eleth from the structure. Asbel jumped up on another container in an attempt to stop Richard but he looked at his old friend with a murderous look in his eyes. "You, stay back! Don't you dare interfere."

As Richard let out a blast from his sword that sent Asbel flying across the clearing, Alice looked up at her brother with horror. He readied another blast and sent it straight towards the knocked down man and a cloud of dust appeared where the attack made contact. Alice looked back at Asbel and smiled as the dust settled to see Sophie standing in front of Asbel protectively. Richard grinned slyly as he saw Sophie begin to glow as she had done before in Lhant. "You and I are fated to always fight, it seems." He commented.

With a loud shout Sophie ran up the wall of the cavern and managed to get up on the high bar with Richard as she let out a flurry of slashes and punches with her powerful gauntlets. Each attacks Richard blocked or dodged flawlessly and Alice couldn't help but admire his swiftness. As the two clashed in a bright light Richard growled. "I will not be destroyed!" He shouted.

In a quick spiral of light Sophie was thrown from the bar and over towards Asbel who had finally pushed himself up with the help of Cheria. Alice looked down to the chancellor as he turned to the three soldiers with him. She could sense that if she didn't resolve things soon then it would turn ugly for Richard.

Alice propelled herself from the lower bar to the one with Richard on it and looked at her brother helplessly. "Richard, please! I know you're in there! This isn't you; why are you doing all of this?!" She exclaimed desperately.

Despite the desperate look on his sister's face, Richard kept the grin on his face and he took a few steps towards his sister. He now stood only an inch or two from Alice as he raised his hand to her chin and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. For Alice, time seemed to stop as a voice echoed through her mind. "You can't help him. The darkness will continue to consume him and you will never have the joy of your brother again… He's lost to the darkness; he will live the rest of his sad pathetic life writhing in pain!"

"Alice look out!" Hubert's voice echoed as Alice broke away from Richard's grasp on her chin only to be pulled in front of him as the guns were fired. A sharp pain shot through her chest and stomach as the bullets slammed into her and she doubled over in pain from being shot. The young princess screamed in pain and Richard promptly pushed her from the edge of the bar and from Hubert's dual pistols came billows of smoke; Hubert had shot her.

Alice fell down into Malik's open arms as he looked up at the wayward king in horror; using his own sister as a shield. With Alice out of the way, Richard completely drained the eleth from the valkines cryas before jumping onto the back of his winged beast. "It's time to finish this…" The king growled as he flew off on the creature's back.

Cheria didn't know who to take care of first; Asbel and Sophie were obviously injured from being thrown around like rag dolls but Alice had been shot. The Captain waved for Cheria to go for Asbel and Sophie as he looked over Alice. Hubert had collapsed to his knees in disbelief. "I-I shot her…" He muttered to himself quietly.

The Captain held Alice's head up with one hand as he looked over Alice and suddenly remembered the bulletproof vest. Malik let out a sigh of relief but was startled as the chancellor began to shout. "All of Fendel's eleth is gone!" He yelled desperately as he turned to Alice who was just barely conscious. "And what's worse if that the thief was none other than Windor's king!" He stomped over to Alice and grabbed the front of her collar, pulling her up roughly and slamming her into the valkines. "You act as a friend but then bring your brother here?!" He shouted.

Alice flinched away as the chancellor looked as if he was going to punch the little girl but luckily Malik was there to stop the man. He picked the princess up in his arms; even though she had the bulletproof vest the bullets still hurt quite a bit. "Captain…" Alice muttered. The man told Alice to relax and not to speak.

"This is none other than a declaration of war…" The chancellor continued. "I won't allow you to simply walk away unpunished! Seize them, guards!" He ordered as guards stepped towards the group and one tried to take Alice from Malik.

Suddenly there were light steps coming from the direction of the entrance to the valkines cryas. "Just a moment, Chancellor." A soft voice prompted as everyone looked to see a young girl with white and lavender colored hair. Alice immediately recognized the girl as Poisson, the Amarcian they had met at the enclave.

"Poisson?!" Pascal exclaimed happily. "What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be with the overseer?" She asked.

The other Amarcian smiled. "As a stand-in for the overseer I have been sent to give you, Chancellor Eigen, a personal message." Poisson began as she turned to the Chancellor who had told the guards to stand down. "The Overseer requests that you leave these people in our care with no pressed charges." She continued. "King Richard has attacked the other two countries as well; this includes his own. He currently threatens all people with no discretion. The Overseer has come to the decision to put all efforts into the research of this matter. These people possess the necessary information for this research to commence."

Chancellor Eigen stepped forward with his hand out towards Poisson. "But Fendel has been suffering for too long; we have had long-term shortages and I-" He stopped as he saw how calm Poisson was as she shook her head.

"One more thing…" Poisson began. "The Overseer did say something about given your answer… We may take back the engineers we have given you for the experiments being conducted of the valkines cryas." She added with a sly smile. "However she hopes that you cooperate so we may continue to maintain a beneficial partnership for many years to come."

With a growled the Chancellor agreed to Poisson's term as he called for the guards to follow him out of the cavern. Once they were all gone, Pascal turned to Poisson. "That was quite the serious threat, Poisson. Did the Overseer really say all of that?" The other Amarcian nodded shortly. "You sure are going to be a great Overseer, Poisson! You had great timing but… How did you know that we'd be down here?"

Poisson explained that Fourier had come by the Amarcian Enclave to tell them about the danger that the valkines was in and Pascal momentarily looked back at the gray valkines cryas. "Sorry Poisson; we couldn't save the valkines in time."

Cheria looked back at Alice who lay limp in the captain's arms; she was conscious but barely. Cheria quickly turned her attention back to Poisson with a sigh. "What do you suggest we do now? With all the valkines cryas drained of their eleth we have no idea where Richard will be heading next."

"Oh well you see; the Overseer mentioned something about that matter as well." Poisson began with a bright smile. There was a short pause before the short Amarcian began once again. "She believes that your King will be on his way towards the Lastalia right about now." Alice's eyes blinked open as she heard the possible target location of her brother. "The Lastalia is the core of this planet and is the overall source of eleth."

Poisson stepped forward and presented Pascal with a gift that she introduced as the key to the Archive of Wisdom. "Much information about the Lastalia is unknown even to the Overseer herself. However she believes the Archive of Wisdom can help you greatly in finding out more about the Lastalia." Poisson explained shortly. Pascal didn't seem entirely sure if she should be able to go inside the archive. "The Overseer believes that the past events have allowed you to 'mature'; as she said. She said that everything the vents have taught you have led to her bending the rules just for you, Pascal." Poisson concluded.

While Pascal was in disbelief of the Overseer actually saying such a thing, Asbel stepped forward to place a hand on her shoulder. "We should go check it out, Pascal." He then looked back at Alice with saddened eyes as he saw that she had closed her eyes again. "We can find a place for Alice to rest as well…" Hubert seemed to have something to say but with the mentioning of the injured Alice he fell silent.

"I have to stay here." Malik finally spoke up as he walked over to Asbel and handed over the young princess to him. "As part of Kurt's wishes for the revolution I must stay here and take responsibility." He paused for a moment. "Through and through I am a man of Fendel and I cannot abandon my people again…" The captain placed a hand on Alice's head momentarily before removing it. "Keep Alice safe for me, Asbel."

Finally Hubert approached Malik and spoke up out of his suspended silence. "I believe there's hardly any point in taking up that revolution as of now. His final wishes were to save his people from misery and for all research on the valkines to be completed." He looked up at the captain with a stern look. "If such wishes are to be fulfilled then we must defeat King Richard. I think you should come with us."

Asbel felt Alice's muscles tense at the mentioning of hurting her brother and Asbel could only give her a worried look. "I'm coming too!" Pascal exclaimed. "Your friend completely trusted me so how could I not help?"

Malik looked around the group who were looking up at him expectantly with the exception of Alice. "You're all too kind to me…"

* * *

**LOOK AT ME IM UPDATING THIS I SWEAR IM ALIVE**


	42. Seed of Destruction

"Are you sure she'll be okay to come with us to the archive?" Hubert wondered as he looked over Alice who was sitting on one of the inn beds. When they had first brought her to the inn Cheria and Pascal set to removing the bulletproof vest and assessed the damage done to her body. Luckily there was only a bruise however the severity of it was quite troubling to the two girls. Cheria had healed it enough so that it couldn't progress into some kind of hematoma but the damage would still prove to be quite painful for the young girl.

Alice watched as Malik gave her a quick glance and shrugged. "I see no reason for her not to come; she might be in a little pain but if she truly wants to come than I don't plan on stopping her." He looked at Hubert with a firm look in his eyes. "I can understand why you want you to stay here, Hubert." After all the blue-haired youth was the one you had fired that bullet her way. "You didn't hurt her that badly; she's still here and that's all that matters."

The young boy with glasses gave a short huff as she approached Alice and sat on the bed beside her. "Alice, do you think that you will be able to accompany us to the archive or would you rather stay behind here? I'm sure one of us would be willing to stay behind; perhaps Cheria."

Her response was one that was to be expected as she shook her head almost immediately. "No; staying here isn't something I'll even take into consideration." Alice answered as she looked over to Hubert. "Richard's my brother and I want to figure out what's wrong with him. If that means that I have push myself to my limits then I'll do just that; I don't care what any of you say." She glanced from Hubert to the Captain. "I won't let all of you do this without me."

Both Malik and Hubert exchanged a glance before nodding the young girl and Hubert pushed himself back to his feet as he turned to Alice. "Well then, shall we join the others outside the inn?" He proposed as he looked away and went for the door. Once he was out of the room Alice rose to her feet as Malik placed a hand on the back of her shoulder and guided the young princess out of the inn after Hubert.

* * *

As they headed into the Archive of Wisdom Alice found that there really wasn't much to look at in the bleak-looking room. "I had expected to see some kind of library when I heard 'archive'…" Cheria mentioned as they approached a strange machine in the center of the room. The princess had been thinking the same thing; normally when one thinks of 'archive' they imagine bookshelves filled with books on different subjects-but all this room had was a large machine.

Pascal turned back to Cheria with a big smile. "Just 'cause we don't have it all written down on paper doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of information in here!" She defended the archive as she suddenly broke into a little dance of joy in her place. "I just can't believe I'm actually here! I've always dreamt of coming here!" Suddenly her bouncing around stopped she turned to the machine. "Alright; time to read about this Lastalia…"

While Pascal operated the machine there was an entire display popping up above the machine that put Alice in awe. She had never seen such technology except for the one incident in the Wallbridge Ruins. "It looks like that display of Sophie in the ruins…" Alice muttered as she looked up at Asbel who nodded. Pascal confirmed her suspicious saying that the two machines were using the same technology to operate.

"Found it!" Pascal exclaimed as the strange projection switched to a three branched figure with a soft glowing light in the center. She began reading the information and then began relaying what she read to the others. "So it exists… But it's not the same thing as a valkines." She informed them. They were suspicious that the Lastalia was the same as a valkines as Richard seemed to be heading there after hitting Forbrannir.

She went onto explain exactly what the Lastalia was. "The Lastalia is where the Eleth is made; so it's kinda like the base of the valkines cryas. The Eleth made here then gets stored in the cryas and the valkines. Apparently the valkines are there to keep the Eleth under control and stabilized…"

Alice took a step forward as she heard that final part. "If the valkines keep the eleth stabilized and Richard has been draining those… What's going to happen to the planet if we don't have the valkines to keep control of the Eleth?" Nobody seemed to have an answer for the young princess as they were all silent; even Pascal.

"Isn't this strange though?" Cheria spoke up. "It sounds like they were designed for that purpose rather than having it occur naturally…" Now that Alice thought about it there was something strange about the way the Lastalia and valkines cryas worked in unison together. Could someone possibly build something like Gloandi, Forbrannir, or Duplemar?

Pascal gave a quick nod. "They say great minds think alike, Cheria!" She exclaimed happily. "I was thinking the same exact thing! Now I'm sure that Richard's off for the Lastalia now… And if he gets there before us and drains the eleth then the world with have no eleth at all." Her eyes glanced around the room to each face. "Once the eleth that's stored in cryas is used up then we're done; the world will just die."

With his eyes casted down Asbel gave a shallow sigh. "The world would die…? Is Richard really after that as his final objective?" He asked. Asbel couldn't believe that his usually kind-hearted friend would come to something like this. "Why would he-"

"No!" Alice shouted suddenly as she turned to Asbel then to Pascal. "Richard would never try to do that! He wouldn't kill the planet… I know my brother; that can't be what he's after!" She felt a soft hand on her shoulder and the princess looked behind her to see Asbel. "Asbel… You don't think he's trying to kill the plant, do you?" Her eyes held that childish denial that made her appear so pitiful in the sense that she was scared of what was an apparent truth.

Before Asbel could even attempt to answer her difficult question the Captain spoke up about the matter at hand. "The Lastalia is the core of this planet though." He began. "If it's all the way underground then how do you suppose we get there?" Malik asked. Even someone with his age and wisdom didn't have a clue on how to go about this situation; this all depended on Pascal's knowledge of the situation.

Pascal turned to machine to search up how they might solve that problem of theirs but as she began moving her fingers across the screen the machine began freezing up. "No! Come on you old thing, get workin'!" She commanded the machine and suddenly it unfroze and seemed to be working once again. "There we go…" As a globe appeared on the projector a quarter of the planet pulled away to reveal a tunnel. "The entry point is called the World's Eye; not far at all from Warrior's Roost." Pascal searched for any extra information and only muttered one word; "Lambda."

The princess looked back to see Sophie looking down at the ground while bringing a clutched fist to her chest. Asbel crossed his arms. "Again… That's the second time we've heard the word; what does it even mean?" He asked in his frustration; the entire concept of their journey was one that was hard to grasp and understand fully.

"I think it might be someone or something that attempted to kill the world years ago; kinda like what Richard's doing right now." Pascal answered with her educated guess. "Wait a sec…" She added as she turned to the machine. "There's some kind of poem written down…"

'_The seed of destruction from Fodra._

_Falls to the land of three lights._

_Sprouting its limbs to shroud the radiance._

_The savior of Fodra rises._

_To wither the leaves of destruction._

_Guarding the lights forever more.'_

"Were we supposed to know what that meant?" Pascal wondered aloud after reciting the poem. "Because I don't have a clue as to what this means." She began searching through the data much gave a sigh. "Another blank spot…"

Sophie muttered something under her breath as she continued to keep her eyes down with a fist clutched to her chest. She then suddenly began breathing heavily as she slouched slightly, holding her chest. Seeing the distressed Sophie, Cheria and Asbel approached. "Is something wrong, Sophie?" She asked in a concerned tone. "Are you alright?"

"I… I think I might be remembering something but it's hurting my head…" Sophie answered in a quiet voice. Cheria offered to take Sophie outside while the others learned what they could about the Lastalia and she then began to escort Sophie from the archive.

Once they were gone out of the archive Pascal brought her hand up to her chin with a deep sigh as she tried to figure this whole thing out. "It's gonna take a while to put all this information back together…" She muttered. "All the information is in little fragments since the records are pretty old…" Even Pascal seemed troubled by the scenario.

"What happened to Lambda once he drained all the valkines?" Asbel asked. He wanted to predict and brace himself for what might happen to Richard since history seemed to be repeating itself as it normally did.

Pascal gave a little shrug. "It seems like something called Protos Heis jumped in and stopped Lambda before his plan went too far." She answered. "Maybe the seed of destruction that the poem mentioned was Lambda? That would make Protos Heis the savior of Fodra; whatever Fodra is." Pascal added.

The captain reached forward and grabbed Alice's shoulders as he pulled her back towards him to comfort the troubled girl. Her body language had told all of those present that the topic of discussion bothered her but she stayed because it was her brother they were talking about. "Makes enough sense; Richard wants to recreate the poem's story for reasons unknown to us…"

"I think we have enough information to go on." Hubert responded as he glanced down to Alice momentarily before pushing his glasses up. "We should get on our way to the World's Eye." He finished with an affirmative nod from Malik.

"We'll definitely stop Richard this time… No matter what." Asbel stated as Alice made a small noise of distress. The Captain simply held on tighter to her shoulders as they turned and left the archive; Alice leaving more troubled than when she came.

* * *

"How are you doing, Sophie?" Asbel asked once they had come outside to find Cheria bent own beside Sophie. The two girls stood up as the others approached them; Alice stuck close to Malik as Asbel's words back in the archive bothered her greatly. What did stopping Richard entail; did it mean capture, injuring, murder…?

Once Sophie gave Asbel the nod to indicate she would be alright. "We're making way for the World's Eye." Asbel informed the two girls as he shot Sophie a quick smile that wasn't very genuine at all. "But please don't come if you're going to be pushing yourself, Sophie. Cheria can stay back here with you to keep you company."

Sophie immediately shook her head. "No; I'm coming with all of you." She answered in that quiet voice of hers.

"We need to backtrack to Zavhert to get a ship from there to Warrior's Roost." Asbel informed. "We should get going."

While everyone began walking forward Alice hadn't moved from her place beside the Captain; she simply watched them walking towards the enclave's exit. She was being faced with what was quite possibly the last time she would ever confront her brother; as either friend or foe. If this was the way her brother was to end she didn't want to witness it but she felt she would need to if she wanted to continue being Asbel's friend. Should she stay behind and Asbel returned saying Richard was dead she would never be able to forgive him. As the Captain began moving Alice rushed to catch up with the rest of them.

* * *

**This is still alive~~**


	43. Royal Agony

The group stepped off the boat as they finally came to the World's Eye; a beautiful and tranquil place with strange architecture. The grass was some the greenest grass Alice had ever seen even after spending her whole life in Windor. She stuck close to Malik as they came to a stop on the path towards the strange altar-like structure in the center of the small island. "This is the World's Eye… I expected it to be… Larger."

Asbel looked back at the others. "We should wander around and try to see what we can find." They all agreed and dispersed around the area. This time Alice walked away from the Captain without him noticing; she felt like she might need to take some time to herself as she looked around the beautiful island.

She wandered off the path and continued on until she came to some strange gate-like structure and she stood in awe of it. Looking around for anyone she found the others not too far away. "Asbel, Captain Malik; come look at this!" Alice called to them which caused the entire group to approach her and the gate. "I think it's the entrance but someone sealed it. We definitely beat my brother here." She added.

That was when they heard the sudden beating of wings above them and Alice dreaded what she might see as she had to force herself to look up to the sky. Quickly approaching the island was none other than Richard on the back of one of the strange winged monsters. As the bird descended he jumped off its back and landed in front of Asbel and the others; a strange red aura surrounded the king as he straightened his posture.

Alice remained speechless at the sight of her brother; he seemed to be in immense pain as he was breathing heavily and that aura was pouring from his body. "What happened to you, Richard…?" Asbel asked in a worried voice. The king suddenly shouted out in pain and the eleth began pouring from him and shot straight for the gate as the others watched in absolute horror.

"R-Richard!" Alice cried out as she went to run for him but was stopped by Cheria who warned her not to get too close. "W-What's wrong with him?!" She looked up at Malik with extreme concern for her brother. "He's in pain! He's hurt!" The young girl glanced to Pascal for help. "Pascal, what's happening?"

The Amarcian looked over her shoulder to Alice. "His body can't contain all the eleth he absorbed!" She explained. "The Lastalia is absorbing it all now that he's close enough!"

Richard began lurching forward as each step he took forward looked incredibly painful and forced; it seemed he was struggling. Seeing such as thing was starting to break the young princess's heart as her brother looked so terrible as if he hadn't slept in days and was just struggling to keep standing. Asbel ran in front of the group with his arms spread protectively. "Stop there, Richard! Don't come any closer!" He commanded.

"Shut up… Every last one of you; just shut up!" Richard roared in his fit of anger. He narrowed gaze shifted quickly from Asbel to Alice who took a small step back into Malik involuntarily. "I won't let anyone get in my way; not after I've come this far." He growled as he slowly drew his blade and darted out towards Alice.

Unsheathing her blade as fast as she possibly could she quickly spun around to get Malik out of the way as she held her sword up against Richard's. As the two blades grinded against one another sparks flew from the two and Alice grit her teeth together as her muscles were beginning to give way to Richard's strength. "R-Richard!" She cried out through her struggle. "You don't know what you're doing; stop this!"

Suddenly Richard tilted his blade so Alice's slid off and he slammed his body into Alice which sent her stumbling back. Before she could bring her blade back up Richard was already lashing forward with another strike but had his sword hit by Malik's bladering. This distracted the king long enough for Alice to go onto her hands and slam her feet into her brother's chest which sent him backwards into a punch from Sophie.

As the king dug his heels into the ground to stop his sliding around he turned to glare at Asbel this time. Without a second thought he lunged and managed to give Asbel a slash across his left hip but the auburn-haired boy retaliated with a slash of his own across Richard's chest. "I'm tired of being betrayed…" Richard growled. "This time I'll end every last one of you!" The king drew back a few feet and charged up his sword before firing the beam at Pascal who was working on casting a spell.

Richard's attack had distracted Pascal's casting and she growled a little as she had to start the chant over again. "Someone cover me!" The Amarcian shouted which attracted Hubert to stand guard in front of her. The king charged another beam and fired it in the same direction but this time Hubert stood his ground in front of Pascal with his dualblade held up to block the attack.

Alice saw Richard getting ready with a third attack and looked to Cheria who had t last managed to fully cast a spell as bolts of lightning shot from where she stood and into Richard. As her brother shouted in pain the princess ran forward and slammed the hilt of her sword into his gut and the two siblings fell forward with Alice on top of him.

The king tucked his legs between the two of them and brought his feet up into the stomach harshly as the young girl was sent flying into the air. Richard quickly brought himself up to his feet and fired a weaker beam up into the sky at his younger sister. When the beam made contact with the small girl she let out a horrible cry of pain and fell to the ground with a loud thump. It had sounded so horrible that Malik suspected that a bone could've been broken in the small girl's body.

Cheria quickly ran to Alice's side as the young girl rolled gently from side to side and groaned from the pain she was in. The young girl was afraid to use her healing hearts as the amount of eleth could be painful to Alice as it had been in Strahta. She took her chances and started with a weak magic of First Aid and once it seemed it wasn't hurting Alice she began using stronger magic on the small princess.

Suddenly there was a loud scream of agony and Alice bolted upright to set her eyes on her brother laying on the ground; writhing in pain. She screamed her brother's name as she scrambled to her feet and bolted forward until she had been stopped by Pascal. Richard slowly turned onto his hands and knees as his body rose and fell harshly. "I can't fail; not when I'm so close… Why can't this body…"

Alice's eyes were full of horror as she witnessed her brother in so much pain and in the pitiful state his was in. Captain Malik stepped forward with his arms crossed. "I know you won't like this Asbel but we have no other choice but to give him a quick and painless end." He took a few steps forward but suddenly Alice ran in front of him and pushed him back.

"Don't you dare touch him!" She shouted at him with the most venom any of them had ever heard used in the usual quiet tone of her voice. Tears formed in her eyes and threatened to fall down her face. "No; I won't let you hurt him! You can't kill my brother!" Alice turned to Richard but as she went to run to him her arm had been caught by Hubert. She looked back to glare at him but Hubert kept a firm gaze on Richard.

As she struggled to get away from Hubert, a familiar voice; one that Alice had grown to love and it belonged to the person she cherished most. "A-Alice!" Richard cried out; this time it was his own voice and wasn't being compromised by a second demonic tone. "Alice…" She looked back in horror to see him clutching his head and he tossed and turned on the ground like a child in a nightmare. "It hurts… It hurts! Help me… I don't want to die… Please don't let me die… Don't kill me!" He seemed to be shaking. "Asbel… You're my friend… You won't let me die either…"

Her eyes were wide as tears broke free from her eyes as she was still being restrained by Hubert even when her brother was obviously in agony. Alice was about to take out his own blade to get Hubert to release her but Sophie had stepped forward and knelt down in front of Richard carefully. As Richard felt the presence of another, his gaze lifted. "It's you, Protos Heis…" He growled; the voice was no longer his own.

"Protos Heis…?" Sophie repeated but suddenly clutched at her chest as she seemed to be in a pain of her own. "No! I'm Sophie; not Protos Heis!" She corrected Richard in a raised tone as Sophie reached out to Richard. "Come on; we can make the pact, Richard… Everything going to be okay. "She assured him.

Richard's body ceased its shaking and his head lifted to see the young girl in front of him. "Sophie…" Just as everyone thought that this was when Richard had finally come back to them his blade lifted suddenly to Sophie forehead. "Die." A blast came from his sword; landing a direct hit on Sophie and sent everyone flying across the wide, open space.

As everyone lay on the ground Alice slowly pushed herself onto knees as well as Asbel' hearing him shout for Sophie. A horrible laughter came from Richard and the young princess watched him in horror as he slowly rose into the air. Alice looked back to see Sophie unconscious on the ground as Asbel tried to wake her up desperately. "Richard…" She muttered as she kept her attention on her airborne brother.

Suddenly from Richard's body the red aura grew at an alarming rate until strange, thick, gray vines shot from the aura and all around the sky before they came crashing into the ground like roots. Malik looked around at everyone frantically. "We've gotta get out of here before we get killed!" He shouted. Asbel continued to try and wake Sophie but soon hoisted her up onto his shoulders as he turned to run but noticed Alice standing underneath her brother.

"Richard!" The young princess screamed. "Stop this, please! Look at what you're doing! If you keep doing this you'll kill the entire planet!" Malik and Hubert ran to her and each of them grabbed and arm as they began pulling her away. Alice thrashed around, trying desperately to get away from them. "No; I'm not leaving him here! I won't abandon Richard!" She struggled further but suddenly Malik lifted her over his shoulder and began running after the others.

The vines crashed into the ground right behind them as they raced for the boat; all the while Alice was slamming her fists into the Captain's back. "Put me down, Captain!" She commanded him. "We can't leave him here alone!" There was terrible strength behind each hard punch she threw yet Malik pressed on until they had finally reached the boat.

Malik harshly dropped Alice onto the floor of the ship as he collapsed against the wall and the man in control of the boat began to pull away from the island as the strange cocoon formed around the entire island.

* * *

**Two updates; whoa... This is my favorite part in the game~ Hopefully another will come soon~**


	44. The Whole Heart Shrinks

The sun was beginning to set as the young princess hugged her knees to her chest tightly and sat on the back of the boat, starring at the waves the boat created. On the knees of her ripped tights were wet spots from her tears as she had buried her face into them. Alice was shaking uncontrollably; not from the cold but rather from the shock of seeing her brother in such a way. And no matter how many times she tried to push the memory from her mind the same sentences repeated over and over again in her mind.

"_I don't want to die."_

"_Please don't let me die."_

"_Don't kill me!"_

Those words had indeed been spoken by Richard; it was his own voice and was nothing like the cruel voice she had heard in Fendel. The words pained Alice; to know that her brother was so terrified of dying even despite everything he was doing; it hurt her. She felt like she could quite possibly go insane if she carried on like this; Alice was very disturbed by the fact that she was so jaded to what had happened to Sophie. She hadn't even gone to see the young girl whom Richard had attacked.

Alice looked down at the wounds she had sustained from the battles of the past; her body which used to be porcelain was now scarred and bruised from all the fighting. She had come into this journey without ever sustaining more than a few scrapes and minor bruises from running around with Richard but other than that she had never felt the pain she had felt during her trip. They were all kinds of pains she wished she had never felt; of losing Richard, of having to turn on him, the pain of being healed while having Eleth Poisoning, and the pain of knowing how scared her brother was.

Her silence carried on through the entire boat; there were no sounds of the others who were on the boat with her as it sailed across the water. Alice could still see the cocoon in the not-too-far distance as it finally finished putting itself together. She thought of how Richard was in there all alone and was scared of whatever was happening to all of them. The young princess felt the tears threatening her once again back she quickly fought them back as she heard the familiar footsteps approaching her. "Are you alright?" Asbel voiced called out as he stood beside and her and looked down to the young princess.

"I'm fine…" Alice mumbled; she wasn't even in the mood to speak with Asbel whom she now trusted the most. Since the World's Eye, the Captain hadn't been to see Alice to check on her and the princess had been avoiding Malik at all costs. He had suggested to kill Richard and that didn't settle well at all with her.

Asbel gave out a heavy sigh as he sat down beside her with his arm touching her own as he crossed his legs. The auburn haired boy placed a hand on Alice's shoulder that was closest to him. "I know it's tough for you right now; we both saw what happened with him back there." His voice was quiet and gentle as he spoke. "But this is where you have to be strong for Richard; we'll save him one way or another so don't worry."

She looked as if she wasn't listening to a single word Asbel was saying as her gaze switched from her feet to the railing of the boat then to the sky. The princess's worries were running rampant through her mind as her hands quivered when she had balled them into fists. "How can you say 'don't worry'…" Alice muttered in a fairly sour tone. "He's hurt… He's in pain, Asbel, and I can't do anything to help that! Even if we do manage to save him… He's still in pain right now."

The young male seemed at a loss for words for a moment before gently bringing his arm around her shoulders. "I know, Alice but please understand that there's nothing we can do right now. We need to find out what is wrong with him exactly and then we can go save him." Asbel smiled as Alice rested her head on him. "You know I would never let Richard die; you shouldn't lose hope either." He looked down at her. "Hm… How are you wounds?"

Alice had been hurt pretty bad by her brother in the recent fight but she would not allow Cheria close enough to heal her. The princess had been keeping her distance despite how much the wounds burned and she was able to keep the feeling unvoiced as the sadness drowned out the pain. What Alice couldn't understand herself was the reason as to why she was staying away from Cheria; she had done nothing wrong.

There was only one person she was worried about confronting after the recent events and that was Captain Malik. He was the one who suggested bringing Richard's life to an end in front of the young princess and she had never been so scared in her life. Alice finally sighed after her prolonged silence and looked to Asbel as she let her muscles go lax with the close proximity of her friend. "T-They hurt… Do you know where Cheria is…?"

Asbel gave Alice a soft smile as he pushed himself up to his feet and offered a hand down to her as she grabbed him and pulled herself up. "Come on, let's find Cheria." He suggested as he allowed Alice to lean against him as they moved. The young man was very concerned for Alice as the amount of weight she was placing on him was large given her small size; maybe she should take a long rest before traveling with them for any longer.

* * *

"You really need to come see me when you have injuries this serious, you know…" Cheria muttered as she held her hands over Alice who was lying across a bed. "It's dangerous for your health to sustain this much damage and not get healed up afterwards." The young princess muttered a soft apology as she kept her eyes looking to the bed to her left where Sophie was with Asbel at her bedside; the girl had yet to stir since their encounter with Richard.

As Cheria continued to heal the princess the door opened and the familiar footsteps sounded before the bearded face of Captain Malik stood beside Cheria. Alice kept her gaze averted from his direction as she sat up but tensed as she felt someone sitting on the edge of the bed. "Princess… I'm terribly sorry for what I said at the World's Eye. But some life decisions are unavoidable no matter how hard they might be. Back there killing Richard was the only way he could've made it out of the situation without suffering more than he had to."

"Malik…" Alice muttered the captain's name as she looked around to see Asbel and Cheria leaving the room so the two could talk in private. "I-I know you want to end him so he won't have to suffer but… Tell me if I'm being selfish but even though the humane thing to do is to end his misery I still would rather keep him alive so I can snap him out of this and have him again…"

The captain sighed as he shook his head at the young female. "It's only natural for you to want you brother to stay alive even if it's for a reason such as that. You're very young Alice and have lost everything in a matter of days and that's more than enough to excuse you from the guilt of selfish thoughts." Malik rested a hand on the princess's shoulder gently. "I understand the way you are feeling even if I've never felt this way myself."

Hearing the captain speak to her so calmly when she had been childish and avoided him made tears threaten Alice. "Captain Malik I'm sorry…" A few tears escaped from her light brown eyes and began to make their way down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry… I was just so angry that you suggested such a thing but… I can see why you did." Alice's gaze lifted from her clenched fists up to Malik and when their eyes locked even more tears broke free.

"Hey…" Malik began as he brought the crying princess close to him in a hug. She instinctively buried her face in the older man's chest as her crying intensified into a sort of sobbing. "You have to stay strong for your brother, Alice. If you break now then who else will be there for him when he does come around? He won't want Asbel to be the only one there; he's going to want to see you, Alice." Malik comforted the young girl as her entire body shook from her crying.

Reaching for the blanket on the end of the bed, Malik unfolded it and brought it over Alice's shoulders as he held her tight enough to make her feel secure. She hadn't cried like this in such a long time; the captain had done it only once before during a terrible storm in Barona. Alice had been wandering around outside when the storm suddenly rolled in. Malik had found her huddled under an ice cream stand shivering from the cold and fear.

Back then was different from now; Alice had only been six or seven when that lightning storm happened and she was scared of many more things than she was now. Being much older as she kept her face buried in the captain's chest, it was very strange to see Alice this terrified. It broke the older man's heart to see her that way and he wanted nothing more than to make her unafraid of what was transpiring around her yet he could do nothing of the sort.

"Thank you, Captain…"

* * *

**Yaaaay new chapter~!**


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